Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 02, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 396 865 3865 Osprey 0 1 42 Bald Eagle 2 3 127 Northern Harrier 13 21 393 Sharp-shinned Hawk 74 142 5345 Cooper's Hawk 3 7 98 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 4 13 56598 Red-tailed Hawk 4 5 180 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 54 85 1280 Merlin 0 1 96 Peregrine Falcon 2 2 40 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 Total: 552 1145 68064 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent Observers: Karen Padbury, Liz Kent, Noel Herdman, Peter Veighey Visitors: Many thanks to Karen and Noel for helping out with the count. It was good to see Brian and Frances and Peter and Judy who also helped out spotting. It was good to meet Roger and Yvonne who showed an interest in the Hawk Watch. Weather: The day started with a light wind from the north east which switched to south east after a couple of hours. There was very little cloud all day. The temperature quickly rose to the mid twenties with a high of 28c early afternoon. Visibility was good all day. Raptor Observations: We had to work for our raptor sightings today with most birds seen to the north over the trees. The slow build up of Turkey Vultures (396) continues with Sharp-shinned Hawks (74) and American Kestrels (54) following. Northern Harriers (13) just topped 10 and all the others were in low numbers. An end of the day 'gray ghost' Northern Harrier was a nice finish. Non-raptor Observations: Blue Jays (17,350) continue passing by, at times seeming to fill the sky at high level, picturesquely framed against the moon in the west. Warblers continue in lower numbers, but ducks and waterbirds are maintaining theirs. Good day for Woodpeckers (5 species) with Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (2) being seen again. Monarch Butterfly (49) numbers increased a bit today. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S151297904 Predictions: Forecast is for a pretty similar day to today with a light wind from the south, with temperatures reaching the mid twenties. Its likely that we will get a similar mix to today, but the big question is how many? ======================================================================== 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