At 10:30 this morning I observed an adult Red-headed Woodpecker in the trees
between Alpha Avenue and the south border of the St. James Cemetery. It was
calling and did not seem to be in a hurry to leave the area.
Alpha Avenue is in Cabbagetown (downtown Toronto) and is located just north
of Wellesley street east and Sackville. St James Cemetery can be accessed
from Parliament, just north of Wellesley and south of Bloor.
Max Perren
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Date: 18 Sep 2004 07:09:19 -0400
Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Holiday Beach (18 Sep 2004) 19992 Raptors
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Holiday Beach Migration Observatory
Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 18, 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Turkey Vulture 101 108 108
Osprey 7 50 50
Bald Eagle 4 13 13
Northern Harrier 34 143 143
Sharp-shinned Hawk 583 2027 2027
Cooper's Hawk 8 39 39
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 19113 22205 22205
Red-tailed Hawk 64 94 94
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 75 645 645
Merlin 1 24 24
Peregrine Falcon 2 5 5
Unknown 0 7 7
Total: 19992 25360 25360
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 10 hours
Official Counter: Bob Hall-Brooks, Bob Pettit
Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks, Bob Pettit, Esther Cusick, Wayne Telasco
Visitors:
>From far and wide they came today to see the show for which they'd pay, the
Broad-wings soared, no one was bored, and they'll be back another day.
Weather:
Light North winds, clear sunny skies, lower temperature from the past week,
a recipe for Broad-winged Hawks. Temperatures ranged from 13.4 to a high
of 23 degrees Celsius.
Observations:
We prayed for Broad-winged Hawks and they did come, almost 19,000 soared
the thermals today, starting shortly after 9:00 a.m. and finally stopping
at 6:00 p.m.
Every possible view from low over the tree tops to specks seen at extreme
binocular range.
Who had time for other ? The Blue Jays finally started to migrate with 88
recorded.
Predictions:
More of the same tomorrow.
=======================================================================Report
submitted by Bob Hall-Brooks ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at:
http://hbmo.org/
Holiday Beach Migration Observatory
Information on southern Ontario's hawk migration and the Holiday Beach
Conservation Area site
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Southwestern Ontario is largely an area of flat, featureless farmland.
There are only two geographic features of note in the region. One is the
proximity of the Great lakes, which influence bird migration in the area
to a great extent, The second is the shape of the province, roughly
funnel-shaped with the narrow end to the southwest. These features confine
south-bound bird migrants, especially hawks, to specific flight corridors.
Holiday Beach Conservation Area was formerly a Provincial Park, but is now
administered by the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA). It is
strategically located at the extreme southwestern tip of southern Ontario.
The park is on the eastern end of a large freshwater estuary known as Big
Creek. (Specifically the site is 1.1 miles south of the junction Highway
20 (old 18) and Essex Road 50, Town of Amherstburg).
The Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO) (founded in 1986) is a
non-profit, volunteer organization formed to promote the study and
protection of migrating birds. Activities focus primarily on fall
migration of raptors and other species. This site is in Essex County,
Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Erie near the Detroit River. In 1988,
HBMO persuaded Detroit Edison to donate a 40 foot Hawk Tower which is now
at the site.
Southwestern Ontario has a funneling effect on migrating raptors due to
the geography of the nearby lakes and the reluctance of most raptors to
cross large bodies of water. Birds gain altitude over the flat farmland to
the north and east, rising easily with the thermals that such areas
provide in abundance. As the birds head south they meet Lake Erie and,
reluctant to cross it , turn west. With appropriate wind and weather
conditions, birds pile up along the lake shore and move west until they
reach the narrow crossing at the Detroit River (or island hop within the
river mouth).
