Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 14, 2015
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 15 414 24778
Osprey 0 1 124
Bald Eagle 2 17 167
Northern Harrier 2 25 992
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 37 8381
Cooper's Hawk 0 10 219
Northern Goshawk 0 0 7
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 27 328
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 13000
Red-tailed Hawk 11 548 2348
Rough-legged Hawk 2 4 6
Golden Eagle 0 13 71
American Kestrel 0 1 1935
Merlin 0 3 92
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 76
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: 34 1100 52524
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 14:30:00
Total observation time: 5.5 hours
Official Counter: Mary Carnahan
Observers: Don Taylor, Ernie Gribble, Jason McGuire, Jim Dunn,
Keith Sealy, Mike Street, Winston Celik
Visitors:
No visitors.
Weather:
The sky was mainly overcast today, with some sunshine starting to break
through between 2:00 & 2:30 PM this afternoon. And it was cold! We hit a
sizzling high of 6 C. but with that wind chill factored in, it was more
like 3 at best. The WNW winds of the early hours were moderate, but
shifted to straight W by 11:00 AM, then went SW around 2:00 PM, effectively
shutting us down for the day.
Raptor Observations:
Thanks to Don T., Ernie, Keith, Jason, Winston, Jim and Mike Street for
their assistance with todays count.
It was not a great flight today. The WNW winds that were forecast were
insufficient to drive those migrants towards Lake Erie and throughout the
watch, we had trouble picking up a consistent flight path. The numbers
show that our sightings were random and sporadic, with a total of only 33
birds, of which almost half were Turkey Vultures (15). However, we did
have 5 species of migratory raptors including 2 Bald Eagles, 2 Northern
Harriers, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 11 Red-tailed Hawks and a gorgeous
Rough-legged Hawk that flew right across the observation knoll almost on
the dot of 11:00 AM.
Non-raptor Observations:
Observers reported only 19 species today with some good highlights,
including a high count of 95 Tundra Swans right along the Cliff, 6 Eastern
Bluebirds (singing), Common and Red-throated Loons, flocks of American
Goldfinch flying west at Sharpie Alley, a flock of about 20 Red-winged
Blackbirds and in the fields were Am. Pipits and Horned Larks. In
addition, we had Song and Am. Tree Sparrows and lots of Dark-eyed Juncos.
Predictions:
The forecast calls for light to moderate SW wind overnight, clearing
towards morning. Sunday will be mainly clear and sunny, with temperatures
ranging from 3 C. to 12 C. in the afternoon but with a little wind chill
factored in, will feel somewhat cooler. Winds will be mainly WSW and light
to moderate throughout the day.
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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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