Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 11, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 125 2767 69955 Osprey 0 0 46 Bald Eagle 24 77 336 Northern Harrier 2 66 813 Sharp-shinned Hawk 7 188 8974 Cooper's Hawk 2 39 349 American Goshawk 0 4 8 Red-shouldered Hawk 76 244 618 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 56725 Red-tailed Hawk 251 1050 2629 Rough-legged Hawk 1 13 17 Golden Eagle 29 68 80 American Kestrel 0 4 2612 Merlin 3 8 135 Peregrine Falcon 1 4 92 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: 521 4532 143389 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent, Michael Arthurs Observers: Aldo Bertucci, Chuck Sharbaugh, Liz Kent, Michael Arthurs, Nicole Shangi, Noel Herdman, Paul Gosselin Visitors: Big thanks to Michael for starting the count and staying throughout the day. Big thanks also to observers Chuck, Noel, Nicole, Neil, Paul and Aldo. We needed their eyes given the height of flight of all the Eagles and Buteos passing over. It was good to see Laura, Dennis, Suzanne, Heather and Roberta again. We were happy to help them identify the passing Raptors. Weather: The temperature soon increased from a chilly 2c early morning to around 8c for the rest of the day. The wind was moderate generally from the north, then turning north west early afternoon and south west late afternoon. The skies were clear in the morning, increasingly clouding over during the afternoon. Visibility was good all day. Raptor Observations: An incredible day for Golden Eagles, with the fourth best daily toll of 29. They appeared from the first hour, with twelve seen in the second hour alone. Most were immatures which bodes well for the future. Three were seen in the last hour. Again one was captured, banded and brought to the Tower for all to see. Thanks to Allen and Chip. Red-tailed Hawks (251) passed by in good numbers, all really high in the afternoon, with Red-shouldered Hawks (76) mixed in. Bald Eagles (24) were also passing in respectable numbers. Sharp-shinned Hawks (7), Northern Harriers (2), Cooper's Hawks (2), Rough-legged Hawk (1) were all in low numbers. It was good to welcome falcons back after an absence of a few days with three Merlins and one Peregrine seen. Non-raptor Observations: Lots of Red-breasted Mergansers (240) on the lake and a flyover of Common Mergansers (13), first of the season. Loads of ducks on the Marsh still with Bufflehead (7) numbers increasing and a total of thirteen species seen. Greater Yellowlegs (22) are still flying over the marsh. Big flight of American Crow (11,360) passing by mostly to the north. Small birds were around, but in smaller numbers. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S154254586 Predictions: Tomorrow's forecast indicates initially a light easterly wind, switching to the south east mid morning and increasing to moderate. Mostly cloudy initially, possibly clearing a bit early afternoon. A bit chilly early morning but the temperature should rise to around 9c by midday. It will be hard to beat today, but hopefully we will still see more of the same mix, through possibly not in the numbers of today. ======================================================================== 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