Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 14, 2018 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 489 5612 5948 Osprey 1 4 51 Bald Eagle 8 56 169 Northern Harrier 27 122 294 Sharp-shinned Hawk 93 1398 2675 Cooper's Hawk 7 47 90 Northern Goshawk 0 2 4 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 7 7 Broad-winged Hawk 0 35 5868 Red-tailed Hawk 0 58 108 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 1 2 American Kestrel 47 1297 2120 Merlin 10 59 105 Peregrine Falcon 4 44 67 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: 686 8742 17508 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Dave Brown Observers: Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan, Paul Thomas, Ronnie Goodhand Visitors: A ton of visitors today including a large group from the Guelph Naturalists lead by Kyle, and many more whose names I didn't get and who helped greatly with spotting the birds. Gary C. was having fun trying to get photos of the raptors and a big thanks to him for helping spot the birds earlier in the morning along with Ronnie who helped as counter today and Paul T., Keith and Mary. Weather: Not the best start the day with very overcast skies and way too much humidity in the air... and winds that were non-existent. However, a couple of hours into the count the skies began to break and the winds picked up slightly from the SW and then SSW and the birds started to move through. Raptor Observations: Though not a huge count today with 686 raptors tallied... there were some GREAT looks at Peregrines, Merlins and Bald Eagles. One of the Merlins came screaming down across the field right in front of us not 2 ft up and then wheeled up and over the line of trees where we sat. We also had a very large (likely female) adult Peregrine that came whipping around the trees in the bush lot and dropped to no more than 20 ft above the ground and headed directly across the field south to the cliff edge and passed along headed west.... only to reappear seconds later circling up directly behind us giving nice views and allowing photographers a second chance to get some shots. There were quite a few N. Harriers today as well including a nice looking adult male that passed just out over the water... and a lone Osprey that flew directly over the observation knoll much to the delight of all the visitors! Non-raptor Observations: A good number of non-raptors on the move today as well including a late Yellow-throated Vireo that I had when I first got there. The bird was singing for a few minutes and the ID was unmistakable. Though late, this sighting is not the latest date for this species especially along the Lake Erie shoreline in October. Several warblers were spotted including Yellow-rumped (LOTS), Palm, Orange-crowned (feeding right over our heads giving nice views), Blackpoll and Cape May. Also for woodpeckers... Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied, YB Sapsucker and N. Flicker... and others Am. Robins, Am. Crows, Am. Goldfinch, Am. Pipits, Eastern Bluebirds, Mourning Doves, E. Starlings, RW Blackbirds, BH Cowbirds, Gray Catbird, Common Loon, RB and WB Nuthatches, Blue Jays (several Hundred passing through all day), RC Kinglet, Cedar Waxwings, Brown Creeper and a few White-throated Sparrows (a couple of which greeted me with their songs as I exited my car when I arrived first thing at sunup... love that sound :). Predictions: The forecast for Monday is for moderate to strong WNW winds BUT there's a good chance of rain so I'm not sure how much of a flight there will be. IF the rain holds off there will be birds on the move. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown (thebro...@ezlink.ca) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm More site information at hawkcount.org: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=392 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
