Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 18, 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 0 54 54 Osprey 1 54 54 Bald Eagle 3 65 65 Northern Harrier 4 183 183 Sharp-shinned Hawk 154 1970 1970 Cooper's Hawk 0 30 30 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 10806 10806 Red-tailed Hawk 0 27 27 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 3 651 651 Merlin 0 23 23 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 4 Unknown Accipiter 0 2 2 Unknown Buteo 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 6 6 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Total: 165 13878 13878 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:15:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9.75 hours Official Counter: Jenna McDermott Observers: Andy Parsons, Bob Hall-Brooks, Bob Pettit, Carol Pitts, Chris Craft, Claude Radley, Ed Pitts, Jim McCoy, Larry Ludwicki Visitors: We had four great visitors today, from Leamington and Windsor, who were so enamoured with the marsh and migration that they promise to return as much as possible! Hopefully we will see them and all of you this weekend for our second weekend of Hawk Festival! See our website for a schedule of events http://hbmo.ca/blog/hawkfest-2015-schedule-of-events/ Weather: The wind was blowing strongly this morning off the lake (S), though slightly blocked from the tower by trees along the shoreline. Bands of heavy cloud, drizzle and rain arrived a few hours in to the count and the wind started to die down. By the late afternoon, it was quite calm and most of the clouds had cleared, leaving a bright blue sky. Raptor Observations: Today was another day dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks with a smattering of Ospreys, Bald Eagles, Northern Harriers and American Kestrels mixed in. Raptors in the morning started out flying very low and close to the shoreline, and a harrier even came close to investigate the plastic owl on the tower. There were a few hours at midday when birds were very scarce, and then suddenly Sharpies started appearing in groups of 3 and 4 during the last two hours of the count! The resident Bald Eagles were also the most active that they've been since the beginning of the month, floating above their nesting area for hours at a time. A Merlin was seen in the morning, flying back to the east. It arrived in sight again and perched by the lake shortly after with a prize in its talons. Non-raptor Observations: Tree and Northern Rough-winged Swallows were feeding over the marsh again for much of the day. The skies were very quite yet again, especially in the middle of the day. Cedar Waxwings numbered at 122, 33 American Goldfinches, 7 Red-winged Blackbirds, 1 Common Grackle, 2 Gray Catbirds, and 2 Blue Jays migrated. Chimney Swifts seemed to appear in small groups around Sharpies that came over the tower, and came in at 45. A banded Downy Woodpecker hung around the tower much of the day. Dragonflies: 14 Black Saddlebags, 3 Common Green Darners. 14 Monarchs. See today's eBird list http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25085211 Predictions: A chance of rain in the early morning with SW winds, but the weather should clear before 11am and wind direction should switch to the NW at mid-day and bring some birds down our way. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jenna McDermott (jmcdermo@alumni.uoguelph.ca) Holiday Beach Conservation Area information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/