Holiday Beach Hawk Watch
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 17, 2024
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Turkey Vulture 1864 47562 49459
Osprey 0 2 23
Bald Eagle 7 145 272
Northern Harrier 15 210 733
Sharp-shinned Hawk 55 2269 7640
Cooper's Hawk 2 79 169
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 234 235
Broad-winged Hawk 0 72 4330
Red-tailed Hawk 12 877 1249
Rough-legged Hawk 2 2 2
Golden Eagle 0 13 13
American Kestrel 1 315 1687
Merlin 0 14 71
Peregrine Falcon 0 33 74
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Mississippi Kite 0 0 1
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 2
Total: 1960 51828 65960
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Cameron Chevalier, Hugh Kent, Liz Kent, Michael Arthurs,
Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Paul Gosselin, Paul Pratt
Visitors:
Thanks to Paul G, Mike, Cameron, Michael, Hugh, Liz, Paul P and Noel for
assisting with the count today. We were visited on the tower by Rose and
Frank from Toronto and Meredith and Krzysztof from Winnipeg.
Weather:
Starting off with chilly 4 Degree C temperature, a clear sky and light
North wind... Classic October Weather. The wind flipped around to
Southwest/South later in the morning, where it remained for the rest of the
day. The temperature climbed to a balmy 17 C in the afternoon,
unfortunately this looks to be the start of a return to above seasonal
Temps and a clear sunny sky... Which may last for the next 10+ days. The
barometer rose from 30.05 to 30.23
Raptor Observations:
It was fairly slow compared to the last several days for raptors, though we
still recorded 1,960 birds. Turkey Vultures (1,864) made up the bulk of
those numbers, their flight line shifting further and further inland as the
day went on, until they were mere specks in the heat haze. The highlight of
the day came just after 10:00, when two light morph Rough-legged Hawks (our
first this season) flew over the back side of the marsh together. These
gorgeous butoes are always a nice treat to see, and we look forward to
seeing more as the season progresses.
Non-raptor Observations:
There was a strong morning flight of songbirds during the first few hours
of the day, making up for the lack of raptors. Finches and blackbirds made
up the majority of the flight, with highlights being; 117 Purple Finch, 6
Pine Siskin, 467 American Goldfinch, 50 Rusty Blackbirds, 2 Eastern
Meadowlarks and 4,780 Red-winged Blackbirds. There was also a smattering of
Yellow-rumped Warblers, Eastern Bluebirds and American Pipits mixed in. A
lone Vesper Sparrow flew overhead in the morning, our first this season and
not a bird that's recorded frequently here. Our first Tundra Swans of the
season flew past the marsh, and several Horned Grebes floated out on Lake
Erie. The highlight bird of the day was a Greater White-fronted Goose that
flew into the marsh with a flock of Canada Geese late in the morning. This
mainly western species isn't recorded often in Essex County and represents
one of only a few records for HBMO.
79 species were recorded from the tower today, for the full eBird list
click here -https://ebird.org/checklist/S199274636
Predictions:
Tomorrow is expected to be similar to today for temperature, with clear
skies and light wind from the Southwest. We don't expect a major flight,
but there are always some raptors moving during sunny days this time of
year. The flightline may be very distant again today though.
========================================================================
Report submitted by Kiah Jasper ([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 find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page
at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
