Ontario Birders: In 1974 a group of area birders belonging to the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club, led by the late Dave Copeland, worked with the fledgling Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) and set up a spring hawkwatch at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area, located off Quarry Road on the Niagara Escarpment above Grimsby. Dave coordinated the watch until 1987, when Mary Ellen Hebb took over.
In 1989 the late Bruce Duncan spearheaded the formation of the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch (NPH). In addition to maintaining the annual raptor count, the NPH expanded its activities to include educating the public of the Hamilton-Niagara region about the annual phenomenon going on literally right over their heads. On Good Friday 1991 the NPH held its first ever Open House, inviting the public to come out to Beamer CA to see what the hawkwatch was all about. The more than 400 visitors who came to Beamer that day were treated to a flight of close to 700 raptors of nine species. A week later the NPH held its first ever Annual General Meeting and Banquet at Stoney Ridge Winery. These two events, and a bi-annual newsletter, have continued every year until last year. Unfortunately, thirty years on, the 2019 picture for the NPH is not rosy. Two of the five-member NPH Committee have served from the beginning, another for 25 years, and the remaining two for close to ten years each. All would like a change, and one of them is leaving the area later this year, so the current executive cannot sustain the NPH. No new people have responded to many requests for help on the Committee. Counter numbers are down to the point where in 2018 there were just enough volunteers to maintain the March 1- May 15 count. At a NPH Executive Committee meeting on 11 January it was decided to suspend the 2019 Annual General Meeting and Banquet and not operate the 2019 Open House. Committee members will explain the situation to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and discuss any options the NPCA may suggest for a 2019 Open House. At the same time the NPH Executive agreed to carry out the actual 2019 raptor count while opening discussion of alternatives to maintain the organization and the count in future years, such as rejuvenating the executive with new members or exploring whether another nature group might be in a position to, at the very least, take over and maintain the actual count of migrating raptors so the 45 year data record at Beamer CA will not be broken. The options will be discussed at a public meeting in April which NPH members and other interested people can attend. Now is the time for all good birders and others interested in birds to come to the aid of the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch. If you can help, would like to attend the meeting in April and/or would like to know more about the NPH, please contact Sandy Darling by email at [[email protected] ] or by phone at 905-689-7481. -- Mike Street Ancaster, Ontario, Canada [email protected] _______________________________________________ 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
