Holiday Beach Migration Observatory Essex County, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 232 22262 22498 Osprey 0 26 95 Bald Eagle 0 19 74 Northern Harrier 17 620 894 Sharp-shinned Hawk 50 5548 9444 Cooper's Hawk 1 393 491 Northern Goshawk 0 18 27 Red-shouldered Hawk 6 241 243 Broad-winged Hawk 0 2889 7012 Red-tailed Hawk 22 1004 1119 Rough-legged Hawk 0 10 10 Golden Eagle 1 7 7 American Kestrel 0 1027 2207 Merlin 1 29 62 Peregrine Falcon 2 29 51 Unknown 0 20 26 Swainson's Hawk 0 2 2 Total: 332 34144 44262 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Bob Hall-Brooks Observers: Dorothy McLeer, Jim Crozier, Jim McCoy Visitors: Our friends from Fort Wayne, Indiana and from Tennessee made today's wet watching a delight as always. Weather: Rain, then Sun, then Cloudy again. Barometer falling all day.Visibility good. Observations: The highlight was the first sighting of the day of a pair of Peregrine Falcons playing with each other all over the sky around the Tower. One Golden Eagle later in the day. The only sighting of note was four Greater Yellowlegs who flew by the Tower calling distinctively. Predictions: North West winds are predicted with clear skies in the morning. Showers predicted in the afternoon. Could be a good morning. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Bob Hall-Brooks (bhall-brooks@cogeco.ca) Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at: http://hbmo.org/ Holiday Beach Migration Observatory Information on southern Ontario\'s hawk migration and the Holiday Beach Conservation Area site ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Southwestern Ontario is largely an area of flat, featureless farmland. There are only two geographic features of note in the region. One is the proximity of the Great lakes, which influence bird migration in the area to a great extent, The second is the shape of the province, roughly funnel-shaped with the narrow end to the southwest. These features confine south-bound bird migrants, especially hawks, to specific flight corridors. Holiday Beach Conservation Area was formerly a Provincial Park, but is now administered by the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA). It is strategically located at the extreme southwestern tip of southern Ontario. The park is on the eastern end of a large freshwater estuary known as Big Creek. (Specifically the site is 1.1 miles south of the junction Highway 20 (old 18) and Essex Road 50, Town of Amherstburg). The Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO) (founded in 1986) is a non-profit, volunteer organization formed to promote the study and protection of migrating birds. Activities focus primarily on fall migration of raptors and other species. This site is in Essex County, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Erie near the Detroit River. In 1988, HBMO persuaded Detroit Edison to donate a 40 foot Hawk Tower which is now at the site. Southwestern Ontario has a funneling effect on migrating raptors due to the geography of the nearby lakes and the reluctance of most raptors to cross large bodies of water. Birds gain altitude over the flat farmland to the north and east, rising easily with the thermals that such areas provide in abundance. As the birds head south they meet Lake Erie and, reluctant to cross it , turn west. With appropriate wind and weather conditions, birds pile up along the lake shore and move west until they reach the narrow crossing at the Detroit River (or island hop within the river mouth). reports@hawkcount.org Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.