This is an official posting from the High Park Hawk Watch. Station: High Park, Toronto, Ontario View Period: October 19 to October 26, 2003 Station coordinator: Don Barnett Counters: D. Barnett, B. Carswell, H Currie, N. McHugh, D. Milsom & H. Shapiro We only counted on 5 days this week, however, it was a pretty good week with 1485 total raptors counted (mainly Red-tailed Hawks (961) and Turkey Vultures (349)).. The best days were Wednesday, Oct. 22 with 862 total raptors including 499 Red-tailed Hawks and 260 Turkey Vultures and Oct. 23 with 492 total raptors (356 Red-tailed Hawks). Based on the last 10 years of observation at High Park the following can be said about the remainder of the season (More detail is available on the web at http://www.torontobirding.ca/~gtrw/). Some species are pretty much through their migration - Osprey, Broad-winged Hawk and American Kestrel. Another group of raptors is nearing the end of their migration - Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Harrier and Merlin. And a third group is entering the peak of migration - Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk and Golden Eagle. The following are our totals for the past week and year to date: Species Oct. 19 - Oct. 26 Year to Date Turkey Vulture...............349................1923..... Osprey.........................-..................41..... Bald Eagle.....................3..................22..... Northern Harrier...............4.................187..... Sharp-Shinned Hawk............71................2340..... Cooper's Hawk..................9.................112..... Northern Goshawk...............3...................7..... Red-shouldered Hawk...........34..................51..... Broad-winged Hawk..............-.................611..... Red-tailed Hawk..............961................1651..... Rough-legged Hawk..............6...................6..... Golden Eagle...................2...................4..... American Kestrel...............1.................308..... Merlin.........................-..................20..... Peregrine Falcon...............-..................36*.... Other(Swainson's Hawk).........-...................-..... Unidentified..................42.................125..... Total.......................1485................7441..... *Totals for Peregrine Falcon may be high due to local birds which are unintentionally counted as migrating individuals. High Park Site Description High Park is a 400 acre wooded park dominated by a Black Oak Savannah located just west of Downtown Toronto near Keele and Bloor. The park is operated by the City of Toronto Parks Department. The Count site (Hawk Hill) is located on a small hillat the north end of the Grenadier Restaurant parking lot. It is located about 1.5km (1 mile) north of Lake Ontario, at an elevation of 110 metres above sea level and 38 metres above Lake Ontario. The site location is N 43 degrees 37 minutes 03.8 seconds, W 79 degrees 28 minutes 56.5 seconds. This station is at the highest point and near the centre of the park; a steep slope that descends to a large pond is immediately west of the station. Full time counts have been recorded here since 1993. The following are partners in our raptor migration monitoring in the Greater Toronto Region: City of Toronto Parks and Culture Department, Toronto Ornithological Club, and Local Naturalist's Clubs. More information including a summary of our past observations is available at: http://www.torontobirding.ca/~gtrw/ Observations for this season are not yet available. -- Howard Shapiro email: howard.shapiro@utoronto.ca "Howard Shapiro" <cathartes@sympatico.ca> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.