Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 12, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 1 Turkey Vulture 35 1040 25557 Osprey 0 0 62 Bald Eagle 21 117 391 Northern Harrier 14 97 687 Sharp-shinned Hawk 16 76 3983 Cooper's Hawk 9 75 258 American Goshawk 0 0 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 6 106 242 Broad-winged Hawk 1 1 1303 Red-tailed Hawk 240 1003 1840 Rough-legged Hawk 0 11 21 Golden Eagle 5 79 157 American Kestrel 0 0 1394 Merlin 1 12 93 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 61 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 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 348 2617 36053 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Dave Brown Observers: Clive Hodder, Mac McAlpine, Michele Carnerie, Ronnie Goodhand Visitors: A few visitors today including Maria C, Trish S and Terry H... and thanks to them and the counters Michele C, Mac M and Ronnie G for helping spot and tally the birds in such a tough sky! Weather: It was a COLD day of counting today with temps starting at 1C and getting to a high of just 8C... but with the NNE to NE winds blowing on us all day it felt a lot colder. There was virtually no clouds in the sky other than a few contrails which made picking out the birds extremely tough and as a result we likely missed a few that snuck over high up. Pressure was up as a large high system settled in over the region. Raptor Observations: A pretty good day today with a total of 348 raptors. The majority of today's flight were Redtails (240) with an excellent count of Bald Eagles (21). Interestingly, there were several times we noted what was likely the local adults engaging with the other Bald Eagles that appeared to be migrants, before turning back and heading off together back east or out over the lake. There were also several more Golden Eagles (5) which was great for a couple of the visitors today who had never seen one... and the first one of the day flew right over the viewing platform about 3 times tree top height providing awesome views! Again today the only falcon was a lone Merlin along with a smattering of other species. The most interesting raptor today was a bird that we identified as a very late Browadwing... it appeared smaller than nearby Redtails, was not a Redtail (no patagial marks) and not a Red-shouldered (lacked any sign of crescents across the primaries). Non-raptor Observations: Best non-raptor today was a fantastic looking White-eyed Vireo that was found by Michele Carnerie (she heard it first before spotting it) and then photographed by her and Maria C. It was just N of the viewing platform right beside the road. Several of us also got the bird and in fact while I was photographing it suddenly a 2ND WEVI popped up and sat in the same tree though just a bit too far apart for me to get them both in one shot. We had thought we were hearing a 2nd WEVI when we were initially watching the 1st one so it was nice to confirm there were indeed 2 of them. Predictions: Wed and Thu are not looking great with less than ideal winds and rain on Thu. For those looking to try the hawk watch keep an eye on FRIDAY and SATURDAY as winds are forecast to be NE to N to NW and with a good mix of sun and cloud which should be better for the next push of migrant raptors. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown (ez.raptor1210@gmail.com) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm More site information at hawkcount.org: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=392