Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 29, 2017 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1135 32848 34593 Osprey 0 7 67 Bald Eagle 15 102 186 Northern Harrier 23 159 376 Sharp-shinned Hawk 203 1559 3427 Cooper's Hawk 46 132 174 Northern Goshawk 1 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 123 177 183 Broad-winged Hawk 1 14 4339 Red-tailed Hawk 155 458 495 Rough-legged Hawk 6 8 8 Golden Eagle 14 31 31 American Kestrel 2 169 1390 Merlin 2 20 75 Peregrine Falcon 0 138 167 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 2 Total: 1726 35823 45514 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Chris Burris, Dave Brown, Tom Bolohan Observers: Chris Burris, Dave Brown, Matt Oswald, Tom Bolohan Visitors: A large group of folks from the OFO joined us today and were treated to a classic fall day at the hawkwatch. There were lots of other visitors as well including Hugh and Liz Kent (from Windsor Canada part-time and the UK the rest of the year) and a ton of others that I'm not going to note here.... but a HUGE thanks to all who helped with spotting and tallying the birds today! Weather: Today was an interesting one for weather with a fairly solid cloud deck but as predicted some light northerly winds. Initially winds were from the NE and then waffled between N and NNE remaining fairly light for the day. The cloud did break out a bit on and off but never really cleared. Temp was very cool to start at 3C but only getting to a high of 8C. Raptor Observations: Early visitors were rewarded with some really excellent looks at birds as we setup at what we call "Sharpie Alley". The first few birds they all got to watch included a couple of nice adult Red-shouldered Hawks, a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk, our first Northern Goshawk of the season right overhead and close enough for photos and a VERY low young Golden Eagle that circled directly overhead as well several times! Total birds for the day was 1,726 with obviously the bulk still TVs (1,135)... but with good numbers of Sharpies (203), Redtails (155) and a bit of a surprise the Red-shoulders (123). Also spotted were several other Roughlegs (6) including a couple of dark morph birds and our biggest push of Cooper's Hawks (46) for this season. A decent count of N. Harriers (23) with several males and even a couple each of Am. Kestrels and Merlins. As for eagles.... there were quite a few Bald Eagles (15) and at one point there were 5 kettling up together just to our east. Of course the real highlights were the Golden Eagles (14) including 3 that crossed right overhead one after the other and then circled directly up behind us for at least 2 minutes and tight enough together to watch in one binocular view. Non-raptor Observations: Also some really good non-raptors sighted today with the biggest surprise 2 VERY late Common Nighthawks (both photographed as they passed directly overhead). I'm not sure what the latest fall migration date is for this species in Ontario but this must be getting close. Other species included a Short-eared Owl spotted flying out along the lake shore, White-throated and Song Sparrows, Eastern Towhee, RC and GC Kinglets, Am. Robin, Am. Crow, Am. Pipits, Horned Larks, Cedar Waxwings, Blue Jays, Yellow-rumped Warblers, N. Flicker, Downy, Hairy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, WB Nuthatch, BC Chickadees, Eastern Bluebirds, Purple Finches, Common Grackle, Common Loons, Brown-headed Cowbird, Red-winged and Rusty Blackbirds, Brown Creeper, Killdeer, Hermit Thrush, Tree Swallows, Herring Gulls, Sandhill Cranes (heard but not seen just to our east and suspected to have landed before we could spot them... and a likely pair of Cackling Geese spotted flying towards the lake in the company of the larger Canada Goose and obviously smaller. And almost forgot ... 10 more Monarchs today! Predictions: Winds are predicted to be strong and directly from the W which will likely shutdown any chance of a decent flight. A few birds might power their way past the hawkwatch area but certainly not like they did today. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown ([email protected]) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm More site information at hawkcount.org: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=392 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
