Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 28, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 40 547 547 Osprey 1 65 65 Bald Eagle 1 100 100 Northern Harrier 9 296 296 Sharp-shinned Hawk 48 4244 4244 Cooper's Hawk 1 45 45 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 16121 16121 Red-tailed Hawk 0 90 90 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 796 796 Merlin 1 32 32 Peregrine Falcon 4 15 15 Unknown Accipiter 1 7 7 Unknown Buteo 1 14 14 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Raptor 0 8 8 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Total: 107 22382 22382 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Jenna McDermott Observers: Jim McCoy Weather: The morning was overcast with clouds that seemed to threaten storms, but those broke up and the sky lightened at mid-day, bringing a hot sun. Temperatures went up to 25C and dark clouds started rolling in again by the end of the count. There was a light breeze from the S, SE, and ESE. Raptor Observations: The day started out quite slowly, with a few low Sharp-shinned Hawks each hour. Northern Harriers appeared more in the afternoon, flying down the shoreline and close to the tower. Turkey Vultures also arrived a little later on in the day, in very small kettles. The best parts of the day were 4 Peregrine Falcons, 3 of which were very easily watched, and gave good looks as they powered effortlessly by. There was also one Merlin that shot by, but surprisingly, no Kestrels at all! Our plastic owl brought a HUGE female Cooper's Hawk barrelling in from across the marsh, appearing to come straight for our heads! Non-raptor Observations: It was a really quiet morning with nothing moving; even the Blue Jays didn't start flocking for a few hours, but they eventually got up to 12,600. 7 American Robins, 36 starlings, 44 Cedar Waxwings, 131 American Goldfinches, 210 Red-winged Blackbirds and 3 warbler sp. migrated past the tower. The afternoon brought a small group of Bonaparte's Gulls along with the usual infiltration of Ring-billed Gulls. A large number of American Coots were in the marsh, mingling with 26 Ruddy Ducks! 1 Common Green Darner, 4 Monarchs. See today's eBird list http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25219065 Predictions: A cloudy day with winds starting in the SW, switching to the NE in the afternoon, with a chance of showers. Any birds coming by should be visible with the cloud behind them, at the very least! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jenna McDermott ([email protected]) Holiday Beach Conservation Area information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/ _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
