Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 24, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 0 2964 70152 Osprey 0 1 47 Bald Eagle 4 123 382 Northern Harrier 0 107 854 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 237 9023 Cooper's Hawk 2 78 388 American Goshawk 0 5 9 Red-shouldered Hawk 8 402 776 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 56725 Red-tailed Hawk 45 1902 3481 Rough-legged Hawk 0 17 21 Golden Eagle 1 95 107 American Kestrel 0 7 2615 Merlin 0 14 141 Peregrine Falcon 0 12 100 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Total: 62 5967 144824 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent, Michael Arthurs Observers: Andrew Wiebe, Kara Wiebe, Liz Kent, Michael Arthurs, Noel Herdman Visitors: Many thanks to Michael for starting off the count, and he and Noel were a great help in observing the few raptors around. Nice to see Andrew, Kara, George and Edmund who helped spotting birds and brightened up the morning for an hour or two. Also good to see Eric on the Tower with his camera. It was good to meet Jeremy and Bernita who showed a great interest in the Hawk Watch. Weather: A strong wind generally from the north all day. Mostly clear skies with slight but variable cloud cover all day. Layers were needed on the Tower as the temperature started at -2c and just about crawled up to 2c by the end of the Day. The day was crisp and clear with good visibility. Raptor Observations: Red-tailed Hawks (45) again took the top spot with Red-shouldered Hawks (8) a way behind. Lots of Bald Eagle activity on and above the marsh with lots of formation flying (chasing), talon grasping and feeding including an unfortunate Mallard. Four were seen migrating. Two Sharp-shinned Hawks, two Cooper's Hawks and a single Golden Eagle completed the tally. Non-raptor Observations: Ducks were again all over the marsh and on the lake, with fourteen species seen. Numbers seem a little down with possibly a few departing for warmer climes. More Buffleheads (40) are appearing though, with Common Goldeneye (18), Redhead (20), Common mergansers (10) , Canvasback (24) and Red-breasted Mergansers (50) all seen on or over the lake. Every few smaller birds in any numbers apart from American Goldfinch (676). American Crows (1030) made another resurgence. The list is at https://ebird.org/canada/checklist/S155130388 Predictions: Another cold day is forecast for tomorrow, with a light wind generally from the west. Initially cloudy but becoming overcast in the afternoon. Raptor numbers may be lower tomorrow, but at this time of the season there is always a chance of a goody! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Hugh Kent (Hughnkent@gmail.com) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/ More site information at hawkcount.org: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=100