ISRW Heber Down C.A.
Whitby,Ontario
Oct. 30/05
As not to bore you I have combined 3 days of observation & 11hrs.The 3 days
were Oct. 28,29 &30/05
Month Total Year to date
Turkey Vulture 415 483
Osprey 2 44
B/Eagle 4 21
N/Harrier 8 41
S/Shinned 124 525
Coopers 15 39
N/Goshawk 3 5
R/Shoulder 41 53
B/Wing 7 3,437
R/Tail 214 300
R/Legged 7 8
G/Eagle 3 3
A/Kestrel 6 70
Merlin 3 9
Peregrine 5 7
UB 0 6
UR 0 1
863 5,248
Hrs of observation 76
Average birds per hour 69
Observers over the 3 days mentioned above; G Nord,M Bence,R Pye,D Worthington,A
Adamo.K Jennewein,B Smith & M Williamson
Report submitted by Mike Williamson
Inf. on Iroquois can be found at torontobirding.ca & click on GTRW. Scroll down
text for directions( Brock Rd. should be Brock St.)
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Date: 30 Oct 2005 16:10:54 -0400
Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Holiday Beach (30 Oct 2005) 59 Raptors
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Holiday Beach Migration Observatory
Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 30, 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Turkey Vulture 51 39295 39453
Osprey 0 15 84
Bald Eagle 0 50 90
Northern Harrier 3 379 702
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 5518 9293
Cooper's Hawk 1 531 679
Northern Goshawk 0 28 29
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 544 545
Broad-winged Hawk 0 130 7965
Red-tailed Hawk 1 3722 3866
Rough-legged Hawk 0 37 37
Golden Eagle 0 32 32
American Kestrel 0 726 2015
Merlin 0 45 114
Peregrine Falcon 0 31 50
Unknown 0 95 103
Total: 59 51178 65057
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 06:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Bob Hall-Brooks
Observers: Claude Radley, Dan Lumm, Dorothy McLeer, Jason Sodergren,
Jim McCoy
Visitors:
Many thanks to our Tennessee trio, our Michigan gang, and our Ontario show
for their efforts at keeping the counter conscious today.
Weather:
A cold start and a warm finish (7-15 degrees Celsius ) with strong SSW - S
winds.
Raptor Observations:
If it had not been for the Northern Harrier with attitude that repeatedly
harassed Crows perched in a tree, today would have been an endless period
of scanning the sky with little result. Of the 59 birds seen, 51 were
distant Turkey Vultures. Even the exciting bird of the day, Cooper's Hawk
had one return to be discounted.
Non-raptor Observations:
Crows (820), American Goldfinch (350), Cedar Waxwings (200) and American
Robins (59) were outdone by the 1065 Black-capped Chickadees that flitted
past the Tower in a seemingly endless procession all day.
=======================================================================Report
submitted by Bob Hall-Brooks ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at:
http://hbmo.org/
Site Description:
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).
Directions to site:
See http://hbmo.org/directions.php
