Holiday Beach Hawk Watch
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 12, 2020
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Turkey Vulture 226 875 52335
Osprey 0 0 9
Bald Eagle 7 17 76
Northern Harrier 9 90 696
Sharp-shinned Hawk 20 115 8095
Cooper's Hawk 12 36 301
Northern Goshawk 0 0 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 32 127 665
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 45368
Red-tailed Hawk 819 1344 4074
Rough-legged Hawk 7 15 22
Golden Eagle 8 18 27
American Kestrel 0 4 1933
Merlin 0 3 160
Peregrine Falcon 0 4 116
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 1
Unknown Buteo 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 2
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1
Total: 1140 2648 113883
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Maryse Gagné
Observers: Elizabeth Kent, Hugh Kent, Michelle Mastellotto,
Noel Herdman
Visitors:
We appreciate all the interest in the tower and the hawk watch but remind
everyone that the tower remains closed to members of the public and has a
three-person limit reserved for the Hawk Counters. Thank you to all who are
respecting these precautions. Be safe everyone!
Weather:
Frosty morning with -1 for the temperature. Luckily, the cold was not felt
as the sun shone brightly and the wind was very calm. This wind came from
the North-East most of the day, until it eventually shifted to the
South-East in the late afternoon. Once again, not a cloud in sight but
plenty of birds coming right out of the blue!
Raptor Observations:
What a fantastic day on tower! In the end, we totaled 1140 individuals with
the strong majority being Red-tailed Hawks (819). From 10 to 1 o'clock, the
action was non-stop, as we bent over backwards to count the hundreds of
Red-tails forming kettles just below the sun and at the limit of our
vision. 32 Red-shouldered Hawks were picked out among the groups, as well
as a few Cooper's Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Northern Harriers, and Bald
Eagles.
Before today, Golden Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks had the case of the
"twos"; we had only been able to see them in pairs daily. Well today we
broke that curse as we counted 8 Golden Eagles and 7 Rough-legged Hawks!
Each eagle was more magnificent that the last, and we were happy to count a
dark-morph Roughie!
All in all, an absolutely remarkable day at HBMO, thank you North-Eastern
winds!
Non-raptor Observations:
Northern winds do not only affect raptors, they also encourage crow
migration, and boy did they move today! We counted 16,390 American Crows
flying just as high as the raptors.
American Goldfinches are still coming through, as well as Eastern
Bluebirds. At the base of the tower, Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree
Sparrows fed on the ground.
A slight decrease in the number of Ring-necked Ducks but they remain the
rulers of the marsh.
Full eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S76172459
Predictions:
Winds from the West tomorrow, which is still good news compared to South
winds. We could see some rain the morning, but it should clear up and
hopefully the sun will come out again.
With luck, the birds that have been pushed down towards the lake today will
keep coming in our direction and pass over the marsh. Keep your eyes to the
sky!
========================================================================
Report submitted by Maryse Gagné ([email protected])
Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://hbmo.ca/
More site information at hawkcount.org:
https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=100
--
Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario
Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario.
Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year
reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to:
[email protected].
If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email
at [email protected]. Please review posting rules and guidelines at
http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines
To edit your membership settings visit the Birdnews setup page at:
http://ontbirds.ca/mailman/listinfo/birdnews_ontbirds.ca.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, all Ontario birders should be taking extra
precautions and following local, provincial, and federal regulations regarding
physical distancing and non-essential travel.
To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page
at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
