From: Fred Bodsworth <fbodsworth(AT)sympatico,ca> Date: 11 Oct 2006
Unusually large numbers of Sandhill Cranes have been seen regularly feeding in a field of corn stubble at the southern edge of Udney on Hyw 169 for over the past three weeks. I saw 3 on Oct. 6th and 5 on Oct. 10th. The first I know of were 2 seen by Nancy Hannah on Sept. 16th. She then saw 30 on Sept. 30th, 2 on Oct. 7th and 8 on Oct. 9th. Terry and Marion Whittam saw 6 on Sept. 17th and 28 on Oct.1 and splendid pictures by the Whittams, one showing all 28 cranes, appear on Carden Nature Board by Bob Bowles. Directions: North from Whitby on Hwy 12 to Hwy 169. Udney is on Hwy 169 at Ramara Concession 10. The Crane feeding field is three small fields south of Udney on the east side. Fred Bodsworth, Toronto. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thu Oct 12 16:05:49 2006 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from taiga.com (mail.taiga.com [204.11.32.182]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6482663EB8 for <[email protected]>; Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:05:49 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 27205 invoked by uid 30); 12 Oct 2006 20:01:08 -0000 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 12 Oct 2006 16:10:08 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Holiday Beach (12 Oct 2006) 191 Raptors X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 20:05:50 -0000 Holiday Beach Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 165 12418 13158 Osprey 2 12 109 Bald Eagle 0 27 78 Northern Harrier 5 186 616 Sharp-shinned Hawk 7 1784 6221 Cooper's Hawk 3 213 397 Northern Goshawk 1 1 4 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 17 17 Broad-winged Hawk 0 473 7728 Red-tailed Hawk 2 378 538 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 4 American Kestrel 1 270 2024 Merlin 4 32 109 Peregrine Falcon 1 19 84 Unknown 2 8 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 3 Total: 191 15833 31098 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 12:30:00 Total observation time: 5.5 hours Official Counter: Claude Radley Observers: Visitors: None braved the winds and cool temperatures today. Weather: A blustery day with brisk West to West Southwest winds gusting to 55 KPH and briefly higher with the passage of a squall line which also brought a brief period of Snow Pellet Showers. The temperature ranged from a cool 2.7 to 4.7 C. Scattered Stratus Fractus and Altocumulus for the first three hours then broken Cumulus. Parka and gloves were the order of the day. Raptor Observations: All of the few migrating raptors seen today save for the Osprey and TVs were below eye level which provided some interesting viewing but made the birds very difficult to spot against the browning marsh grasses. A Sharpy landed on a muskrat mound near the tower to sit out one of the higher gusts. Our adult Bald Eagles and a 2nd year bird spent most of the day near the Eagle tree and exhibited and interesting hovering behaviour, presumable looking for carp. Non-raptor Observations: Few passerines headed West. Among the ones that did 23 Chimney Swift, 48 Rusty Blackbirds, 3 Northern Flicker and more than 50 Tree Swallows were noted. No Blue Jays were seen passing the tower. Predictions: Mostly cloudy with moderate SW winds and a little warmer than today with a morning low near 2 and a high near 8 C. There is a 30% chance of showers through the day. Sounds rather balmy to me after today! =======================================================================Report submitted by Claude Radley ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at: http://hbmo.org/ Site Description: 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: Entering Canada from Detroit at the Ambassador Bridge: After Canadian Customs, stay left 50 yards, passing over the railroad tracks. You are now on Huron Church Road leading to Highway 401 and Highway 3. Continue east 3.8 miles to the intersection with Todd and Cabana roads. Go through the intersection, staying to the right. In less than 100 yards the main road splits; 401 and 3 continue to the left as the main road and Huron Church narrows and angles to the right. Follow Huron Church right for 0.5 miles to Disputed Road. After anglign a right turn onto Disputed Road, travel south. At 4 miles Disputed Road intersects with Townline Road, and the name changes to Concession 5. Continue south 5 miles and Concession 5 "T"'s with South Townline Road. Turn left and travel east 0.2 miles, turning right (south) onto Concession 6. Continue south for 3.4 miles to the intersection with Highway 20 at Malden Centre in the town of Amherstburg. There is a restaurant/convenience/gas store on the southeast corner of the intersection. Go through the intersection south onto Route 50 for 1.3 miles. The entrance to the Holiday Beach Conservation Area is on the right. Pay entry fee and continue to the Hawk Tower at the south end of the park. Park vehicle and walk to the tower. West bound on Routes 401 and 3 Howard Avenue, Route 9, intersects Routes 401 and 3 east of Windsor. Take Howard Avenue south to Highway 20 ("T"'s) and turn left (west) traveling to Malden Centre in the town of Amherstburg. A restaurant/convenience/gas store is on the left. Turn left (south) on to Route 50 for 1.3 miles; the entrance to HBCA is on the right.
