Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 19, 2009
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 13
Osprey 4 106 112
Bald Eagle 25 120 138
Northern Harrier 16 164 189
Sharp-shinned Hawk 189 2708 2734
Cooper's Hawk 4 52 54
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 717 21919 21946
Red-tailed Hawk 3 20 25
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 1 1
American Kestrel 40 1621 1635
Merlin 0 36 39
Peregrine Falcon 2 17 20
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 1001 26764 26906
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Observation start time: 06:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Colin Horstead
Observers: Ches Caister, Dave Brown, Derek Lyon, Jason McGuire,
Jennifer Lyon, Jim Dunn, John Potticary, Keith Sealy,
Mary Carnahan, Ronnie Goodhand, Tom Bolohan
Visitors:
Lots of visitors today for the 2nd of our 2009 open house weekends...Thanks
to Jerry Pilny (Calgary, AB) and others whose names I didn't get for their
help with spotting birds today. A big thanks to everyone (banders,
butterfly taggers, Al Hurst and HCF volunteers) for helping put on a great
weekend.
Weather:
Moderate NE winds dropping to light on and off throughout the count period.
Temp cooler to just 19C.Not a cloud in the sky for the entire day.
Raptor Observations:
Another decent flight with 1001 raptors. More BW's (717) and an excellent
flight of Bald Eagles (25). However, the bird of the day was an ADULT
Golden Eagle spotted to the north. As it circled it was set upon by a young
Bald Eagle at which time it headed off to the west. This is one of the few
times we've recorded a Golden Eagle in September at Hawk Cliff...and beats
our previous earliest recorded date of Sept. 26, 2004. The fact that it was
an adult is also unusual since we would normally expect such an early bird
to be a youngster. The bird was observed by both the hawkwatch counters and
the banders operating east of the hawkwatch.
Non-raptor Observations:
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Report submitted by Dave Brown ([email protected])
Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at:
http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm
Site Description:
The Hawk Cliff Hawk watch is located just east of Port Stanley on the cliff
overlooking Lake Erie. Over the years the Hawk Cliff site has grown in
popularity and today it is recognized as one of the prime fall migration
hawk watching destinations in North America.
Every year hundreds of birders (and non-birders!) from Canada, the U.S.
and other countries visit the site. Knowledgeable volunteers are always on
hand to assist visitors with raptor identification and to raise public
awareness on the subject of raptor migration.
Birders can normally expect to see some 15 different raptor species with
typical count totals reaching several thousand birds per day. The count
season is from September 1st to November 30th.
On a few exceptional occasions lucky visitors have witnessed the amazing
spectacle of over 100,000 raptors of various species migrating past Hawk
Cliff in a single day!
Hawk Cliff hawkwatch is a great location for visitors to come to learn
about raptors and their migration. We cater to school groups, and will
arrange to provide special live bird demos for the kids (if possible)
depending on the day's flight.
Please visit the Hawk Cliff Foundation website listed above for more
detailed information and special events.
Directions to site:
>From east 401, take the Highbury south cut off at London, follow Highbury
(Hwy 30) south to St. Thomas. Highbury changes into South Edgeware at a
large curve in the road to the west. Follow South Edgeware west to the
first set of traffic lights - Burwell Road, turn left (south) and stay on
this road. It becomes Fairview Ave (Regional Road 22), which runs directly
into Hawk Cliff Road. You will see a sign for Hawkes Cliff Farm, where they
sell fresh vegetables and a gravel road just beyond sign. Just continue
down gravel road to viewing area.
>From west 401, take the Highway # 4 (Colonel Talbot Rd.) exit south,
through Talbotville, road now is Sunset Rd. continue towards St. Thomas;
you will come to a veer in the road, straight up to St. Thomas, veer to the
right for Port Stanley, follow Highway 4, now Sunset to Port Stanley. As
you approach Port Stanley you will come to a large curve in the road with
a sign saying East St, to the left. Take East St., and follow it to the
first road left, (opposite Port Stanley Water Tower) Dexter Line. Follow
Dexter Line approximately 2 km. and turn right down gravel road at Hawkes
Cliff Farm, and follow gravel road to viewing area
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birding organization.
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For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
