Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 10, 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 1475 7749 10451 Osprey 1 9 75 Bald Eagle 1 15 113 Northern Harrier 6 53 288 Sharp-shinned Hawk 95 857 4179 Cooper's Hawk 4 67 213 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 7 19 Broad-winged Hawk 0 72 6033 Red-tailed Hawk 2 80 355 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 2 4 American Kestrel 3 76 831 Merlin 0 9 61 Peregrine Falcon 0 12 37 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 8 Unknown Buteo 1 1 4 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 1 1 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 5 Black Vulture 0 0 1 Gyrfalcon 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 1590 9011 22680 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Jeremy Hatt Observers: Frank Dolby Visitors: John and Nancy visited from Amherstburg today as well as a camera crew from CBC who were reporting on Holiday Beach being named the third best hawkwatching location in North America by Audubon Magazine. It's great to see news outlets taking interest in one of the best birding locations in Ontario during the fall! Weather: Rain in the morning followed by cloudy conditions for the rest of the day with spots of light rain in the afternoon. Temperatures were between 7C - 11C but the wind made it feel cooler. Winds were out of the west in the 12 - 19 km/hr range for the entire day. Raptor Observations: We were treated to a spectacular number of Turkey Vultures throughout the day, at times flying over in low groups of 100 or more. Between 12 and 1pm, we counted 829 Turkey Vultures pushing against the west winds. In total, we counted 1,590 birds of 9 species. Non-raptor Observations: Not as many passerines today but we still counted 2,500 Blue Jays. Chimney Swifts continue to fly over in good numbers with 52 counted in total. As it gets later in the year, fewer Tree Swallows are present at the marsh but 43 were recorded today. 152 American Goldfinch flew by the tower as well as 9 Rusty Blackbirds in the early morning. Predictions: A mainly sunny day with southwest winds predicted to be between 25 and 40 km/hr. Temperatures are expected to be in the 4C - 15C range. Expect a day similar to today; lots of Sharp-shinned Hawks still flying against the wind as well as good numbers of Turkey Vultures. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jeremy Hatt (hattjeremy@hotmail.com) Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at: http://hbmo.org/