Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 191 18886 22277 Osprey 0 13 193 Bald Eagle 0 41 180 Northern Harrier 1 110 662 Sharp-shinned Hawk 25 2058 7711 Cooper's Hawk 5 79 165 Northern Goshawk 0 3 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 85 88 Broad-winged Hawk 0 4 37168 Red-tailed Hawk 0 702 1073 Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 2 Golden Eagle 0 4 5 American Kestrel 3 172 2916 Merlin 0 14 78 Peregrine Falcon 0 37 117 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 225 22210 72638 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 11:00:00 Total observation time: 3 hours Official Counter: Mary Carnahan Observers: Chris Burris Visitors: Thanks to Mary and Chris for managing to get some kind of count done today. Weather: It drizzled off and on in the second half of the third hour, and the temperature dropped steadily throughout the morning. It was 13C when I got to the Cliff at 8:00 AM EST and it was 10C when the count finished. Wind was gusty from time to time but otherwise not that bad at our location (Sharpie Alley) which is protected from NW winds. We had thick cloud cover throughout the morning with a few almost brightish spots, but a long way from sunny. Raptor Observations: In the first hour, the 3 Sharpies and single AK were see flying among the many Crows passing overhead. The lone Northern Harrier was on its own, a juvenile flying at tree-top level across the willows right beside Sharpie Alley. Then, right at the top of the new hour, the TVs got up and moving, with a steady flow, easy to count. The light was not good and although everything was low down, most birds were in silhouette only, with very little colour visible on anything. Most birds came in batches, aided by slight variations in the wind and short periods of less cloud cover, but mostly it was just gloomy and damp with scudding cloud overhead and a few birds making a break for it. Non-raptor Observations: Today's sightings are from the area surrounding Sharpie Alley. Yellow-rumps, Juncos, a White-breasted Nuthatch, both species of Kinglet, Cardinals, Goldfinches, a House Finch, Cedar Waxwings and Chickadees, with the occasional White-crowned Sparrow were the highlights in nearby trees and bushes. Flocks of Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds, many Crows and very many Starlings were seen flying westward all morning. As well, Eastern Bluebirds were heard singing at the south end of the field, while small flocks of Horned Larks, Pipits, and Pine Siskins were spotted flying here and there. We had 4 Woodpecker species this morning including a couple of very active Northern Flickers, a Red-bellied in a nearby tree and a Red-headed Woodpecker flying westward across the field (The immature Red-headed Woodpecker was an awesome surprise) and a Downy Woodpecker...also Wood Duck, and Eastern Towhee. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown (thebrowns@ezlink.on.ca) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm