Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 05, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 1101 4308 6205 Osprey 0 1 22 Bald Eagle 6 41 168 Northern Harrier 4 84 607 Sharp-shinned Hawk 29 541 5912 Cooper's Hawk 4 26 116 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 4 4 5 Broad-winged Hawk 6 67 4325 Red-tailed Hawk 27 79 451 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 1 1 American Kestrel 2 170 1542 Merlin 0 1 58 Peregrine Falcon 1 5 46 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 Mississippi Kite 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 1184 5328 19460 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent Observers: Liz Kent, Michael Arthurs, Noel Herdman, Paul Gosselin Visitors: Thanks to Liz, Michael and Joanne, Noel and Paul for helping spot all the high birds at a distance in a blue sky - not easy. We enjoyed having Mike and Stephanie visit us for the day and it was good to see Corrine, Emily, Brian and Sarah, Marianne and Scott and Lynn and Bill on the Tower. Eric and Carlos came up with their cameras for a spell. Weather: We were met with a clear blue sky which stayed with us all day. The light, sometimes moderate wind started ENE and then swung to east about mid day. The temperature started at 14c and rose to a comfortable 23c by the end of the day. The pressure fell 10 points during the day and the visibility was good. Raptor Observations: A quiet day overall with the exception of Turkey Vultures (1101) streaming past high just north of the Tower at a rate of about 150 per hour from mid morning. Sharp-shinned Hawks (29) and Red-tailed Hawks (27) were the only species to reach double figures although Red-Shouldered Hawks (4) are hinting of a start to their season. Non-raptor Observations: Blue Jays streamed past for most of the morning reaching 26,400 for the day. Their numbers might just be starting to tail off. There was an impressive murmuration of Starlings way off to the north east of around 10,000 birds. Warblers have dwindled with only Yellow-rumped Warblers (16) about today. Duck, Heron and Egret numbers are slowly increasing on the marsh. A flight of Red-breasted Merganser on the lake were a first for the season. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S197681219 Predictions: The forecast is for moderate winds from the south west, turning west after mid day. Scattered clouds will be present in the morning with a clearance coinciding with the change in wind. The temperature is forecast to start at 18c and rise to 24c by the end of the day. It is likely that Turkey Vultures will dominate the scene again. Hopefully some Buteos will accompany them. ======================================================================== 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