Grimsby, ON - Beamer Conservation Area Grimsby, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 10, 2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 1 5 Turkey Vulture 74 2578 5448 Osprey 0 7 7 Bald Eagle 0 5 37 Northern Harrier 0 14 33 Sharp-shinned Hawk 5 207 268 Cooper's Hawk 0 22 56 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 24 407 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 16 158 753 Rough-legged Hawk 1 5 20 Golden Eagle 0 0 5 American Kestrel 0 6 12 Merlin 0 4 7 Peregrine Falcon 0 3 10 Unknown Accipiter 0 7 8 Unknown Buteo 0 6 24 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 1 1 Unknown Raptor 0 5 7 Total: 96 3054 7110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Bill Lamond Observers: Kevin McLaughlin, Matt Mills, Phil Waggett, Simon Carter Visitors: Very few hawk watchers today. I was alone until just before 11. No surprise considering the weather. Helpers were Kevin McLaughlin, Matt Mills, Simon Carter, Craig Corcoran, Phil Waggett and briefly, Kevin Shackleton. Weather: Was mostly cloudy and fairly windy and cold! Winds out of the north, shifting to the east in the afternoon when it cleared and the wind diminished somewhat. Raptor Observations: Raptors were quite slow. Highlight was a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk. That's it. Non-raptor Observations: The "others" certainly eclipsed the hawks. There was a Fox Sparrow singing at set-up and this singing continued for a couple of hours. At one point there were seven Fox Sparrows at the feeder as well as one sharp-looking White-throated Sparrow, likely a female as no song was heard. Other migrants here included about three sapsuckers, two phoebes, a few Golden-crowned Kinglets and a couple of flickers. No overhead passerine movement at all, in fact I did not see a grackle or Red-winged Blackbird here all day. A pair of Wood Ducks flew around the tower three times during the day and two kingfishers flew past. The highlight by far was the 16 Red-throated Loons that flew over. Kevin McLaughlin saw the first two over the plain flying west. While looking for them, Matt Mills saw four flying east. Eventually, the two flying west, joined up with the four flying east and then as the group circled more Red-throated Loons kept adding to the flock, until 16 were together. This group then headed due south and flew right over the tower. No idea where they were headed. Five Common Ravens were observed on the day. The first was missing a primary on the left wing. A different bird was observed later flying in the opposite direction. Around 2:30, three ravens were observed flying west. The Cooper's hawk pair was seen often today, on a couple of occasions together doing their "Short-eared Owl" flight imitation. One Mourning Cloak was seen in the woods during a late afternoon walk in the wood. Predictions: sound's bleak ======================================================================== Report submitted by Bill Lamond () Grimsby, ON - Beamer Conservation Area information may be found at: http://www.niagarapeninsulahawkwatch.org/ More site information at hawkcount.org: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=389 Site Description: Hawk migration monitoring at the Beamer Memorial Conservation Area in Grimsby, Ontario is conducted by the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch (NPH). All counting is done by volunteers. Not all members are counters nor does a counter have to be a member. Typically one person is the designated counter for each day but other observers present assist with the spotting and identification. Counting is done from a steel observation tower with a wooden floor. For wind protection on cold days, particularly in March, a black plastic wind guard is installed around the tower's platform. This platform easily accommodates ten people but on most busy days, no more than five or six observers would be on it. The site lies within a publicly accessible property owned by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. There is no charge for admittance. The tower stands in the centre of a mowed area with a gravel ring road near the outer edge. This provides lots of room to park vehicles (along the road) and set up lawn chairs, telescopes and cameras. Toilet facilities are present. During the counting season, the NPH erect a counting board to display seven day's worth of observation data for the public. The box enclosing the sign contains brochures and silhouette sheets for the public as well as bulletin boards with news and historical sighting records. Directions to site: To get to Beamer CA, take the QEW to Exit 71/72, follow Christie St./Mountain St. to the top of the escarpment, turn right on Ridge Road West, and go 1.6km to Quarry Rd. Turn right on Quarry Rd. and drive 100m to the conservation area. Parking is normally available inside the park. If parking at the entrance or on the roads, do NOT leave valuables in your car. Please note: 1) Data in this report is not official until reviewed and finalized after the end of the season. ©2019 Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch. 2) Vehicular traffic into the park is allowed, but visitors are asked to have their cars outside the gate by 3PM. If parking at the gate DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN YOUR VEHICLE!!! _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. 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