Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 24, 2016
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 140 145 145
Osprey 4 78 78
Bald Eagle 42 74 74
Northern Harrier 38 250 250
Sharp-shinned Hawk 146 1759 1759
Cooper's Hawk 2 30 30
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 44 6780 6780
Red-tailed Hawk 27 39 39
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 37 898 898
Merlin 2 42 42
Peregrine Falcon 0 7 7
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: 482 10102 10102
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Observation start time: 06:30:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8.5 hours
Official Counter: Bob Johnstone, Dave Brown
Observers: Bob Johnstone, Dave Brown, Dave Sked, Harold Vanderley,
Ian Platt, Keith Sealy, Mac McAlpine, Paul Thomas,
Ronnie Goodhand, Steve Birch, Tom Bolohan, Tom Thomas
Visitors:
Lots of visitors today....Stefan and Kirsten Wasowicz, Sylvia Park, Patrick
Cleeve, Dawn Sharo and many more whose names we didn't get. Thanks to the
many counters and observers that helped out today...including Bob J., Tom
B., Mac M., Steve B., Tom T. Dave S., Paul T., Ronnie G., Keith S., Ian P.
and Harold V.
Weather:
Winds nice and strong from the NE for most of the day though the speed
dropped slightly midday. Temp started at a cool 8C and never got above 18C.
The small amount of cloud that we started with quickly burned away leaving
us staring into a pure blue sky. OUCH!
Raptor Observations:
With the lack of cloud we watched as the smaller hawks gained altitude and
eventually disappeared from view. There's no question a good number of
birds were on the move today but we simply couldn't pick them up at those
heights. The only way we found smaller birds was by focusing on the Bald
Eagles and TVs that we COULD see!
The total for the day was 482 birds. We had one of our best days in ages
for Bald Eagles (47) providing a great study in the various plumages for
the different ages. Even the eagles were at times not visible without
scanning with our binos.
A bit of a surprise...the Redtails (27) were definitely moving and the
majority of appeared to be young birds and we tallied some high flying TVs
(140) all within a few minutes during the last hour of the count. Other
species included Osprey (4), N. Harrier (38), Sharpies (146), Cooper's Hawk
(2), some Broadwings (44) which I suspect is the tail end of their main
push, A. Kestrel (27) and Merlin (2) that sped through low.
It would be interesting to know just how many raptors snuck by out of sight
of the observers!
Non-raptor Observations:
On the other hand the Blue Jays were already on the move in droves at 6:30
a.m. (EST) and right at treetop height. Counting over several minutes we
got an average of 500 per minute and given they continued at that pace for
the first 3 1/2 hours we estimate over 11,000 passed the hawkwatch area
this morning! It was a real treat for the visitors.
Other species observed included a late male Yellow Warbler that landed in a
shrub right next to us and began feeding. A couple of nice Common
Nighthawks, some Tree Swallows and Chimney Swifts, Belted Kingfisher,
Indigo Bunting, Purple Finch, A. Goldfinch, warblers (A. Redstarts, Black
and White, Magnolia, Wilson's, BT Blue, BT Green, Yellow-rumped, Blackpoll,
Red-eyed Vireo, woodpeckers (N. Flicker, YB Sapsucker, Red-bellied,
Pileated), Gray Catbird and Golden-crowned Kinglet.
Predictions:
Tomorrow (Sunday) is likely to be similar to today weather wise...with lots
of sun but moderate to strong E winds. The humidity is expected to be lower
which might help get more birds moving...though E winds aren't always the
best direction for migrants.
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Report submitted by Dave Brown (thebro...@ezlink.on.ca)
Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at:
http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm
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