Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 15, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 23 437 24801 Osprey 0 1 124 Bald Eagle 3 20 170 Northern Harrier 6 31 998 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 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 70 618 2418 Rough-legged Hawk 1 5 7 Golden Eagle 3 16 74 American Kestrel 1 2 1936 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: 107 1207 52631 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Mary Carnahan Observers: Jason McGuire, Jim Dunn, Keith Sealy Visitors: None. Weather: Observers enjoyed a beautiful fall day with a high temperature of 13 C., which we reached fairly early in the day. In sheltered spots it was downright hot! The wind was mainly southwesterly, so as the watch progressed, we moved farther north, spending the afternoon at the Ridge aux site. Raptor Observations: Surprisingly, given the light to moderate southwesterly wind and mild conditions, we ended up with a total of 107 migrants. 23 were Turkey Vultures; as well, we tallied a total of 6 migratory raptor species, the majority of which were Red-tailed Hawks (70). Also counted were 6 Northern Harriers (1 adult, 5 juveniles). Also spotted were 1 dark-phase Rough-legged Hawk at the B&B and 1 American Kestrel flying low along the Cliff. Eagles were fairly well represented all seen near the Ridge including 3 Golden Eagles and 3 Bald Eagles. Non-raptor Observations: The stars of the non-raptor parade today had to be the insects 1 Monarch Butterfly, reported near the ravine along Hawk Cliff Rd, a few Clouded Sulphurs observed at the Cliff as well as farther inland, and a single, gorgeous Red Admiral right in front of observers on the mound at the Cliff. On November 15th!!! In the non-raptor, avian department, numerous flocks of Horned Larks flew along the cliff early this morning. Seen in much smaller numbers, other flocks included American Goldfinch, Red-winged Blackbird, American Robin, Eastern Bluebird, although most of these appeared to be more engaged in just flying back and forth than flocking westward. In trees and bushes at the Cliff as well as at our auxiliary location observers noted Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-capped Chickadee, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, and lots of American Crows and Blue Jays. Predictions: At present, the forecast for Monday calls for moderate westerly winds with very comfortable temperatures and lots of sunshine. Wind is expected to shift to breezy SE winds on Tuesday at 30 km / hr, then to an even higher velocity on Wednesday and mainly southerly. This does not look like a great forecast for hawk migration along Lake Erie, but on the other hand, we did have a couple of surprises today. ======================================================================== 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 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
