Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 22, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 2519 10950 11171
Osprey 0 3 61
Bald Eagle 28 97 231
Northern Harrier 47 183 546
Sharp-shinned Hawk 723 1740 5081
Cooper's Hawk 44 127 174
American Goshawk 4 4 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 35 90 90
Broad-winged Hawk 2 28 32327
Red-tailed Hawk 282 472 523
Rough-legged Hawk 7 10 11
Golden Eagle 15 15 15
American Kestrel 89 659 1955
Merlin 14 32 83
Peregrine Falcon 3 28 54
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
Total: 3812 14438 52326
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Tom Bolohan
Observers: Chris Burris, Dave Brown, Dave Verkley, Derek Lyon,
Jason McGuire, Mac McAlpine, Matt Oswald, Ronnie Goodhand,
Tom Stewart
Visitors:
A pile of visitors today including a good sized group from the OFO who were
there for their annual Hawk Cliff outing. There were many other visitors as
well and many of them had never been to a hawk watch before so it was great
that they got such an amazing day to enjoy for their first time! A huge
thanks to Tom B for taking official counter duties today and to the rest of
the crew Chris, Tom S, Ronnie, Matt, Mac, Derek and Laura, Dave V, Jason
and the many others that provided lots of eyes to scan the skies for birds.
Weather:
A near perfect day for hawk watching with a good mix of sun and cloud and
much dryer air. Temps were pretty cool to start at 5C and getting to a high
of 8C where it remained steady. Winds were strong from the NNW and NW the
entire day which really helped push the birds down to the lake shore.
Pressure was on the rise throughout the day as well.
Raptor Observations:
Awesome flight today as the birds took full advantage of the passage of a
cold front and made a break for warmer climes. The total birds today was
3,812 with the highlights being some very low and photogenic Golden Eagles
(15) just above tree top level and our first A. Goshawks (4) of the season
that also passed through very low. Today we recorded 14 of our typical 15
species that migrate through Hawk Cliff only missing out on Osprey!
The Sharpies (723) came through in nearly a constant stream and often
barely 10m right over all the observers heads. this is one of the better
Sharpie migration counts in a long time with many of these birds being
adults at this point in the season. We're starting to see more Cooper's
Hawks (44) and good numbers once again of Red-shoulders (35) and Redtails
(282). We also had some nice looks at N. Harriers (47) and Rough-legged
Hawks (7) with one dark morph Roughie that came right in over us just above
tree top level. Rounding out the buteos were a couple of late Broadwings.
For the falcons we had a good count of Am Kestrels (89) and Merlins (14)
and then Peregrines (3) that all came through VERY low and fast providing
some great looks! All in all one of the better flights of raptors I've seen
in bit.
Non-raptor Observations:
A ton of non-raptors were on the move today was well and you can check out
the various eBird reports at the Hawk Cliff hotspot. Thanks to Chris B for
submitting a report for the day at the following link:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S152872436
Predictions:
With SW winds forecast for the remainder of the week the only birds that
will be passing through by the hawk watch will be those that tend to ride
the updraft at the cliff or a bit in from the cliff so I don't expect any
large flights again till the weekend when winds are forecast to once again
swing back around from a northerly direction. We'll just have to wait and
see.
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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:
https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=392
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