Grimsby, ON - Beamer Conservation Area Grimsby, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 11, 2017 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 1 Turkey Vulture 77 3266 5339 Osprey 1 12 13 Bald Eagle 1 5 26 Northern Harrier 2 25 36 Sharp-shinned Hawk 27 392 468 Cooper's Hawk 2 19 58 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 44 297 Broad-winged Hawk 1 3 3 Red-tailed Hawk 5 265 866 Rough-legged Hawk 0 6 13 Golden Eagle 0 0 4 American Kestrel 1 27 45 Merlin 1 6 11 Peregrine Falcon 0 2 4 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 0 5 32 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 3 8 Total: 118 4081 7225 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Mike Street Observers: Eric Geenen, Sandy Darling Visitors: Peter Middleton, Andy Morgan, Tony Battenburg, Ian Jarvie, Joe Coutts, Sean James, Brian Hawthorne Weather: Warm but variable south >> west winds, quite strong at times; mostly cloudy but some blue sky in the afternoon. Raptor Observations: Not a bad flight considering yesterday's fronts and thunderstorms didn't clear the area until 06:00 today. Both the Merlin and the Kestrel were flying east. Non-raptor Observations: 35 species of non-raptors seen, heard or reported. It was a woodpecker day with dueling Sapsuckers, a Pileated flyby, three Red-Bellied around the feeders and at least 25-30 Northern Flickers migrating. Other highlights: Common Merganser, Eastern Towhee, singing though invisible Fox Sparrow and an early Ruby-crowned Kinglet which started singing at 1500!! Predictions: A bit uncertain. Depends on how many birds moved up from the south/southwest today. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Mike Street (mikestre...@gmail.com) Grimsby, ON - Beamer Conservation Area information may be found at: http://www.niagarapeninsulahawkwatch.org/ Site Description: Hawk migration monitoring at the Beamer Memorial Conservation Area in Grimsby, Ontario is conducted by the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch (NPH). All counting is done by volunteers. Not all members are counters nor does a counter have to be a member. Typically one person is the designated counter for each day but other observers present assist with the spotting and identification. Counting is done from a steel observation tower with a wooden floor. For wind protection on cold days, particularly in March, a black plastic wind guard is installed around the tower's platform. This platform easily accommodates ten people but on most busy days, no more than five or six observers would be on it. The site lies within a publicly accessible property owned by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. There is no charge for admittance. The tower stands in the centre of a mowed area with a gravel ring road near the outer edge. This provides lots of room to park vehicles (along the road) and set up lawn chairs, telescopes and cameras. Toilet facilities are present. During the counting season, the NPH erect a counting board to display seven day's worth of observation data for the public. The box enclosing the sign contains brochures and silhouette sheets for the public as well as bulletin boards with news and historical sighting records. Directions to site: To get to Beamer CA, take the QEW to Exit 71/72, follow Christie St./Mountain St. to the top of the escarpment, turn right on Ridge Road West, and go 1.6km to Quarry Rd. Turn right on Quarry Rd. and drive 100m to the conservation area. Parking is normally available inside the park. If parking at the entrance or on the roads, do NOT leave valuables in your car. Please note: Data in this report is not official until reviewed and finalized after the end of the season. ©2017 Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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