Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 05, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 73 1564 4564 Osprey 0 1 42 Bald Eagle 1 7 131 Northern Harrier 3 32 404 Sharp-shinned Hawk 5 241 5444 Cooper's Hawk 0 20 111 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 13 56598 Red-tailed Hawk 0 7 182 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 1 98 1293 Merlin 1 2 97 Peregrine Falcon 2 6 44 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 86 1991 68910 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent Observers: Liz Kent Visitors: It was great to meet Michael accompanied by this friend Mike, who had visited the Tower during the Broad-wing migration. Michael was a stalwart of HBMO in the 80s and had helped establish the Tower and had done many a Hawk Watch. It was good to swap stories of then and now. Weather: The day was overcast with the feel of impending rain which arrived as forecast in the early afternoon. The wind was moderate generally from the south and the temperature remained in the low twenties. Visibility was fair. Raptor Observations: Very quiet day with the Raptors also seeming to be waiting for the rain. Turkey Vultures (73) ventured along the shoreline in a shall we/shan't we sort of mood trying to make the most of the wind, finally deciding to head west. All the other raptors were in single figures with Sharp-shinned Hawks (5) in a very distant second place. We did however see all the Falcons which I suppose is a bit of an achievement. Mind you they fly in most conditions. Non-raptor Observations: Also a quiet time with duck and waterbird numbers reduced, but species increased. It was good to see a small flotilla of Ruddy Duck (8) out on the marsh, which together with a Winter Wren was a first for the season. It was also nice to see a bright male Black-throated Blue Warbler which decided to show himself after hiding under the leaves. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S151512113 Predictions: Tomorrow is forecast to be cloudy initially becoming clearer through the day with a moderate wind generally from the west with southerly aspect. The temperature will be in the high teens, slightly lower than today. There is a slight possibility of rain during the day. Hopefully these conditions will encourage more raptor movement, probably with the same mix as previous days. ======================================================================== 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