[Ontbirds]High Park Hawk Watch - Oct 10 - 15 '06 + Year-to-Date
This is an official posting from the High Park Hawk Watch. Station: High Park, Toronto, Ontario View Period: Oct 10-15, 2006 Station coordinator: Don Barnett Counters: D. Barnett, B. Carswell, C. Harte, M. Kelch, N. McHugh & H. Shapiro Thanks to the many observers and visitors who have contributed to the enjoyment and success of the Hawk Watch! The following are our totals for: Oct 10 - 15 and Year-to-Date: Species Oct 10-15 Year-to-Date Turkey Vulture74..1232 Osprey..236 Bald Eagle..1...24 Northern Harrier..0..80 Sharp-Shinned Hawk..271204 Cooper's Hawk.081 Northern Goshawk0...1 Red-shouldered Hawk.1...5 Broad-winged Hawk0...2536 Swainson's Hawk00 Red-tailed Hawk.11... 257 Ferruginous Hawk00 Rough-legged Hawk13 Golden Eagle...06 American Kestrel..0...227 Merlin.214 Peregrine Falcon...1...26* Gyrfalcon.0...0 Other...0.0 Unidentified3..58 Total...123 .5790 *Totals for Peregrine Falcon may be high due to local birds which are unintentionally counted as migrating individuals. High Park Site Description: High Park is a 400 acre wooded park dominated by a Black Oak Savannah located just west of Downtown Toronto near Keele and Bloor. The park is operated by the City of Toronto Parks Department. The Count site (Hawk Hill) is located on a small hill at the north end of the Grenadier Restaurant parking lot. It is located about 1.5km (1 mile) north of Lake Ontario, at an elevation of 110 metres above sea level and 38 metres above Lake Ontario. The site location is N 43 degrees 37 minutes 03.8 seconds, W 79 degrees 28 minutes 56.5 seconds. This station is at the highest point and near the centre of the park; a steep slope that descends to a large pond is immediately west of the station. Full time counts have been recorded here since 1993. The following are partners in our raptor migration monitoring in the Greater Toronto Region: City of Toronto Parks and Culture Department, Toronto Ornithological Club, and Local Naturalist's Clubs. More information including a summary of our past observations is available at: http://www.torontobirding.ca/~gtrw/ Observations for this season are not yet available. Marc Lichtenberg [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[Ontbirds]HSR: Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch (15 Oct 2006) 5836 Raptors
Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 15, 2006 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture5429 13953 15044 Osprey 5 53270 Bald Eagle 5 74289 Northern Harrier12381 1332 Sharp-shinned Hawk 298 3213 8872 Cooper's Hawk 19183335 Northern Goshawk 1 17 25 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 34 41 Broad-winged Hawk0 1095 43080 Red-tailed Hawk 38762894 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 0 Golden Eagle 2 2 2 American Kestrel22596 4994 Merlin 4 23209 Peregrine Falcon 0 21 98 Unknown 5 30 Swainson's Hawk 1 1 1 Total:5836 20413 75516 -- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Dave Brown Observers:Alf Rider, Colin Horstead, Derek Lyon, Jason McGuire, Jennifer Lyon, Keith Sealy, Mac McAlpine, Tom Thomas Visitors: Lots of visitors today and many of the usual suspects to help with the count. Thanks to Tony and Dave from Brampton...and to I believe Mary (hope I got the right name) who served up the wonderful cookies for everyone today. Weather: A beautiful day but unfortunately, the cloud cover was very sparse and the wind was moderate from the W and then the SW (we just can't seem to get a NW wind anymore!!!). Temp was comfortable to a high of 12C. Raptor Observations: A record breaking vulture flight today with a total of 5429 TV's tallied. Highlights for the day were the first 2 Golden Eagles for the season (1 Adult and 1 Immature) and a Juvenile Light morph Swaison's Hawk (keep an eye out Holiday Beach and Erie Metro Park :). Total birds for the day were 5836 (Note this is a combined total at our typical October watch location and a secondary location near the Sparta ridge). Also got 298 Sharpies (most of which were counted right along "Sharpie Alley"). We counted another 22 Kestrels today which will bring us s close to 5000 for the year with 4994. A few more Osprey today with 5 and another Northern Goshawk. Non-raptor Observations: Predictions: Monday's predicted winds are SW going to SE...not exactly great for large flights...but at least the weather itself is supposed to cooperate till late in the day. Rain is forecast for Tuesday. 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: Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch: Oldest Hawkwatch in Ontario - since 1931 - located just east of Port Stanley on the cliff overlooking Lake Erie 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
[Ontbirds]HSR: SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark (15 Oct 2006) 9442 Raptors
SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 15, 2006 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture9141 45010 46901 Osprey 5 23211 Bald Eagle 10 41156 Northern Harrier10181686 Sharp-shinned Hawk 178 1484 5757 Cooper's Hawk 16194340 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 8 37 41 Broad-winged Hawk0 2503 67955 Red-tailed Hawk 66688889 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 0 Golden Eagle 1 4 5 American Kestrel 6173 1808 Merlin 0 8 35 Peregrine Falcon 1 8 37 Unknown Swainson's Hawk 0 5 8 Total:9442 50359 124829 -- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:15:00 Total observation time: 8.25 hours Official Counter: Jeff Schultz Observers:Calvin Brennan, Darlene Friedman, Scott Jennex Visitors: 70+ Weather: Today was a bright blue sunny day with a sparse bit of cumulous and a bit of high cirrus as a background. Certainly conditions were much more comfortable today after several straight days of strong winds although still a bit on the cool side. Winds were predominately west-southwest and light to moderate. Raptor Observations: A strong movement of vultures was recorded today, one of the largest of the season so far, very fitting for the annual Turkey Vulture picnic. Much of the early flight was overhead but there was enough of a southerly component in the wind to push the birds gradually to the north. There was a decent mix of other species overall with Bald Eagles in particular making a very good showing. There were several instances when multiple eagles were in view at once with several of the individuals soaring directly overhead much to the appreciation of the 70 or so folks partaking of the picnic. Non-raptor Observations: Several warbler species were noted in the area today including Orange-crowned, Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue and Cape May. Report submitted by Calvin Brennan ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at: http://www.smrr.net/
[Ontbirds]York Region Migrants
There were some migrants of at least local interest in the northwest part of York region this weekend. Yesterday afternoon on the west side of 2nd Concession just north of Newmarket, Bruce Brydon had two BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS. I drove up there this afternoon but the plovers were gone. As consolation there were three GREATER YELLOWLEGS and a dozen Killdeer. Since I was about halfway to Keswick at that point, I continued northward to check the west end of Ravenshoe Road, which runs along the southern perimeter of that town. Just west of property #562 in a big puddle on the north side of the road there was a surprisingly good selection of birds that included 18 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, 3 BLK.-BELLIED PLOVER, 16 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 13 DUNLIN, 2 LSR. YELLOWLEGS, and a flock of about 30 AMERICAN PIPITS. Further west, close to where Ravenshoe Rd. dead ends at the Holland River, I turned onto a desolate fragment of Yonge St. and drove to its muddy southern terminus. As I got out of my van I flushed an AMERICAN BITTERN. It flew south into the huge marsh area there. Returning to Newmarket via Holland Landing, I did a quick stop at the sewage lagoons. There was very little bird activity, but the last cell held 72 BONAPARTE'S GULLS and about 30 GW TEAL. As I was leaving I observed a COOPER'S HAWK circling high overhead. I stopped at the Cawthra Mulock reserve on Bathurst St. in northwest Newmarket and also found it to be quiet, but I did manage to find two GB HERONS, numerous kingets of both species, several White-throated Sparrows, a PILEATED WOODPECKER, and 7 HERMIT THRUSHES feeding on wild grapes with a flock of about 60 robins. Ron Fleming, Newmarket DIRECTIONS: The 2nd Concession is the northern extension of Main St. out of Newmarket. The puddle where Bruce had the plovers and I had the G. yellowlegs is on the west side of the road, about a km north of Queensville Sdrd. Ravenshoe Road, as mentioned, runs along the southern edge of the town of Keswick. It is accessed by taking Leslie St. north from Newmarket. At the stoplights where there is a gas station and a Country Style Donuts, turn left and follow Ravenshoe down the hill, past the ball diamonds, past Lake and Canal streets, and out into the flat expanse of the vegetable fields. (This area is a good place to check in winter for Snow buntings, Rough-legged hawks, and Snowy Owls.) The Holland Landing lagoons are at the eastern terminus of Cedar Ave., a short street that runs east from Yonge St. in the north part of Holland Landing. This section of Yonge Street runs south from Queensville Sdrd. The Cawthra Mulock reserve is on the west side of Bathurst, just north of Green Lane in NW Newmarket. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Oct 15 17:57:07 2006 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from taiga.com (mail.taiga.com [204.11.32.182]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id BF90A63919 for ; Sun, 15 Oct 2006 17:57:06 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 25491 invoked by uid 30); 15 Oct 2006 21:52:15 - Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: ontbirds@hwcn.org From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 15 Oct 2006 17:10:15 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch (14 Oct 2006) 1450 Raptors X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 21:57:07 - Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 14, 2006 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture1358 8524 9615 Osprey 2 48265 Bald Eagle 4 69284 Northern Harrier 3369 1320 Sharp-shinned Hawk 51 2915 8574 Cooper's Hawk3164316 Northern Goshawk 1 16 24 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 34 41 Broad-winged Hawk0 1095 43080 Red-tailed Hawk 17724856 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 3574 4972 Merlin 3 19205 Peregrine Falcon 4 21 98 Unknown 5 30 Total:1450 14577 69680 -- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total obser
[Ontbirds]HSR: Holiday Beach (14 Oct 2006) 2762 Raptors
Holiday Beach Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 14, 2006 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Turkey Vulture2343 14772 15512 Osprey 0 12109 Bald Eagle 0 28 79 Northern Harrier10196626 Sharp-shinned Hawk 350 2135 6572 Cooper's Hawk 23236420 Northern Goshawk 0 1 4 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 20 20 Broad-winged Hawk0473 7728 Red-tailed Hawk 19397557 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 4 American Kestrel 9279 2033 Merlin 0 32109 Peregrine Falcon 3 22 87 Unknown 2 4 10 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 3 Total:2762 18608 33873 -- Observation start time: 06:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Bob Hall-Brooks Observers:Dan Mennil, Martha Derbowka Visitors: Visitors to the site today included friends from Kentucky, Vancouver, Alaska, and Georgia. We also welcomed and contributed to programs for the Ornithology students of Dan Mennill from the University of Windsor. Two groups split their time between the hawk count on the Tower or a session of bird banding at the Passerine Station (with raptors provided from the Lake Raptor Station). Weather: Rain for the first hour then changing to sunny with cloudy periods. Winds strong from the West for most of the day. Raptor Observations: Over 2700 raptors with most being Turkey Vultures. Sharp-shinned Hawks made up the lions share of the remaining species, but Cooper's Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Northern Harriers, merican Kestrels and 3 Peregrine Falcons made up the balance. Non-raptor Observations: Due to the strong winds, passerine sightings were greatly reduced with only 230 Blue Jays and 90 American Goldfinch. The marsh is teeming with many species of duck and American Coots. Some Great Egrets are still present. Predictions: More of the same expected (minus the rain). Report submitted by Bob Hall-Brooks ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at: http://hbmo.org/ Site Description: Holiday Beach Conservation Area was formerly a Provincial Park, but is now administered by the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA). It is strategically located at the extreme southwestern tip of southern Ontario. The park is on the eastern end of a large freshwater estuary known as Big Creek. (Specifically the site is 1.1 miles south of the junction Highway 20 (old 18) and Essex Road 50, Town of Amherstburg). The Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO) (founded in 1986) is a non-profit, volunteer organization formed to promote the study and protection of migrating birds. Activities focus primarily on fall migration of raptors and other species. This site is in Essex County, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Erie near the Detroit River. In 1988, HBMO persuaded Detroit Edison to donate a 40 foot Hawk Tower which is now at the site. Southwestern Ontario has a funneling effect on migrating raptors due to the geography of the nearby lakes and the reluctance of most raptors to cross large bodies of water. Birds gain altitude over the flat farmland to the north and east, rising easily with the thermals that such areas provide in abundance. As the birds head south they meet Lake Erie and, reluctant to cross it , turn west. With appropriate wind and weather conditions, birds pile up along the lake shore and move west until they reach the narrow crossing at the Detroit River (or island hop within the river mouth). Directions to site: Entering Canada from Detroit at the Ambassador Bridge: After Canadian Customs, stay left 50 yards, passing over the railroad tracks. You are now on Huron Church Road leading to Highway 401 and Highway 3. Continue east 3.8 miles to the intersection with Todd and Cabana roads. Go through the intersection, staying to the right. In less than 100 yards the main road splits; 401 and 3 continue to the left as the main road and Huron Church narrows and angles to the right. Follow Huron Church right for 0.5 miles to Disputed Road. After anglign a right turn onto Disputed Road, tra
[Ontbirds]Red Phalarope Cobourg harbour October 15
At 10 am this morning, Sunday, October 15, a basic-plumaged Red Phalarope was found feeding with numerous other shorebirds on the broad mat of algae on the west side of Cobourg harbour. A scope is a good idea to confirm the phalarope's relatively heavy bill. Other shorebirds included 6 Black-bellied Plover, 7 Pectoral Sandpipers, a Sanderling, a Dunlin, and Killdeer. Several species of common waterfowl in the harbour include a small raft of Redhead. Directions: Exit Hwy 401 at Division St., Cobourg, Exit 474, and drive south to the harbour. Drive west around the harbour to the large parking lot near the boatyard and walk out on the west headland. Margaret Bain, Cobourg [EMAIL PROTECTED] From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Oct 15 16:01:42 2006 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from smtp101.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com (smtp101.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com [206.190.36.79])by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with SMTP id E074B63484 for ; Sun, 15 Oct 2006 16:01:39 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 45070 invoked from network); 15 Oct 2006 20:01:39 - DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=s1024; d=rogers.com; h=Received:Message-ID:From:To:Subject:Date:MIME-Version:Content-Type:X-Priority:X-MSMail-Priority:X-Mailer:X-MimeOLE; b=JOFHwQGk0r6eLc0VTppiLoYnxtcrkVPPdASFQI6EJ8gWOCkieEgaEs9TGKt5TzaoUpRkmQ4K5aQOyOGwXnLQUksPZC7RavsWJuaircsOvqMzzovlO9zAwqTOuN7UDMg3knrFUUumaNTnZhq2O5aRzbwBI3JdQeJA9UCoGSYhxVo ; Received: from unknown (HELO douglus0kdu880) ([EMAIL PROTECTED]@72.141.178.44 with login) by smtp101.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com with SMTP; 15 Oct 2006 20:01:38 - Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "Doug Lockrey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "ontbirds" Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 16:01:41 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2869 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2962 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds]Palm warbler, meadowlark, bluebird AND 97 raptors at Cranberry--Oct.15 X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 20:01:42 - Oct.15 at Cranberry Marsh RW brought at least 25 people to help with the count or to visit. Among the non-raptors--PALM WARBLER, 8 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, several E.BLUEBIRDS, E.MEADOWLARK, as well as 5 MONARCH BUTTERFLIES Observations made over 5.5 hours-Oct.15 Observation time--8am to 1330pm (hawktime) Counter--Rayfield Pye Observers--Jim McKnight, Jim Munroe, John Stirrat, Gord Gallant, Greg Stuart, Don Lloyd, Karl Jennewein, Ron Stephenson, Jean Iron, Ron Pittaway, Alf Lisk, Doug Lockrey and others Highlight raptors- 1 imm. Bald Eagle, 3 Peregrines, 1 late Osprey (RECORD YEAR FOR OSPREYS--155, 15 MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS HIGH; ALSO A RECORD YEAR FOR BALD EAGLES--48, 1 over the previous high) Day's CountTOTAL Turkey Vulture37 1593 Osprey1 15B5 Bald Eagle 1 48 N. Harrier1 158 Sharp-shinned 35 1357 Cooper's 7 86 Northern Goshawk 0 12 Red-shouldered 04 Broad-winged 0 974 Red-tailed 5 330 Rough-legged0 0 Golden Eagle 0 1 American Kestrel 2 652 Merlin 123 Peregrine314 Unidentified481 TOTAL 97 5488 >From the west--Exit 401 at Salem Rd. in Ajax, south to Bayly, east through >Lakeridge Rd., one block to Hall's Rd., south towards the lake, parking at the >entrance to the south pathway. >From the east--Exit 401 at Brock St. in Whitby, south to Victoria, west past >the Lynde C.A. parking lot to Hall's Rd.-- Doug Lockrey, Whitby, ON From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Oct 15 16:39:17 2006 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from BAYC1-PASMTP03.bayc1.hotmail.com (bayc1-pasmtp03.bayc1.hotmail.com [65.54.191.163]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id CD30063B04 for ; Sun, 15 Oct 2006 16:39:15 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Originating-IP: [65.95.154.201] X-Originating-Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from dianaoffice ([65.95.154.201]) by BAYC1-PASMTP03.bayc1.hotmail.com over TLS secured cha
