Ross Snider, James Holdsworth and I had a great day of late fall migrant
watching along the Lake Huron shoreline in southern Huron County between
Grand Bend and Bayfield. The weather forecast was for moderate E winds
at Goderich and NE winds at Kincardine, farther north along the lake
which are the best wind directions that cause southbound migrants to
drift towards the Lake Huron shoreline where they concentrate [just as
northerly winds cause migrants to pile up along the Lake Erie or Lake
Ontario shorelines. We weren't disappointed.
As Alf Rider has already reported, migrants were moving along the
shoreline in good numbers today. Cynthia Cook saw 4 flocks of Sandhill
Cranes numbering 325 birds today in north Lambton just south of Kettle
Point . Between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. we saw 10 flocks of cranes
totaling 691 birds ranging in flock size from 6 birds to a massive flock
of 250 birds. From prior experience we assumed that the flocks of
Sandhill Cranes would disperse through Lambton just south of Grand Bend
where the shoreline bends to the west towards Kettle Point. However, it
appears that at least some of today's migrants continued to follow the
Lake Huron shoreline. Birders should consider a trip to the Lake Huron
shoreline north of Grand Bend in mid to late November just to see the
large numbers of Sandhill Cranes. In previous years our group has seen
large numbers of cranes on most visits during this time frame. On
November 10, 2007, Ross and James saw 80 cranes and on November 18, they
counted 837 birds, surely a record high count for southwestern Ontario.
On November 11, 2009, four of us saw 27 cranes.
But, it's not just Sandhill Cranes that follow the Lake Huron shoreline.
Ross and James showed in 2007, that astounding numbers of Rough-legged
Hawks follow this route in mid to late November. On November 10, 2007,
they had 143 individuals and on November 18, 77 individuals. Either of
these one day [half day, actually] counts surpasses the YEAR count for
most Lake Erie hawk migration counting sites [Hawk Cliff, Holiday Beach
and Erie Metropark]. Today was another high count for Rough-legged Hawks
with 37 individuals in just 5 hours. [There were still birds migrating
when we called it a day at 2:30 p.m.]
Golden Eagles also, migrate along the lake in impressive numbers.
Today's count was 7 individuals. Counts in other years were 13 on Nov 10
and 26 on Nov 18, 2007 and 7 birds on Nov 11, 2009.
The rest of today's raptor count included 14 Northern Harriers 35
Red-tailed, 1 Sharp-shinned, 3 Cooper's and 2 Red-shouldered Hawks and
at least 5 Bald Eagles.
Other interesting sightings were 75 Snow Geese, 1 Northern Shrike, a
Red-throated Loon in the lake off Hendrick's Drive and fields full of
Snow Buntings [2500+], Lapland Longspurs [60+] and Horned Larks.
Directions
Hwy 21 runs north from Grand Bend to Bayfield about 0.5 to 1 km inland
from the lake shore. There are about 12 sideroads in this stretch of
highway. You can pull off Hwy 21 onto most of the sideroads and find a
place to park along the side of the road within a few 100 metres of Hwy
21. We prefer Hendricks Road in the south and Crystal Springs Road in
the north. Hendrick's and a couple of other sideroads also provide a
lookout over the lake. Once parked, watch inland to the east and west
towards the shoreline to determine whether the flight lines are close to
the shore or further inland. An almost continuous line of woodland
running north and south about 3 km inland provides a flight path on some
days. Once you've determined the flight line you can move closer to the
shoreline or farther inland. The flight path may change during the day
as well so move accordingly. Today, the flight path was inland in the
morning, near the lake shore in early afternoon and then shifted back
inland around 2:30 p.m. Based on 12 visits in 2007, 2009 and 2010, we
believe that the best winds for a good flight are E to N winds. To
determine the best conditions, check the wind directions for Goderich
and Kincardine to the north which is where the hawks are coming from.
Dave Martin, Ross Snider and James Holdsworth
damar...@xplornet.com
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