Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 21, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 1891 45343 48343 Osprey 0 5 46 Bald Eagle 5 61 185 Northern Harrier 12 289 661 Sharp-shinned Hawk 211 2710 7913 Cooper's Hawk 7 130 221 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 23 99 99 Broad-winged Hawk 2 137 56722 Red-tailed Hawk 33 266 441 Rough-legged Hawk 2 2 2 Golden Eagle 1 2 2 American Kestrel 46 1360 2555 Merlin 1 25 120 Peregrine Falcon 2 41 79 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: 2236 50470 117389 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent Observers: Liz Kent, Noel Herdman, Paul Gosselin, Peter Veighey Visitors: Big thanks to Peter for staying the whole day observing and recording and it was great to have further help from Noel and Paul in the afternoon. We had quite a few visitors to the Tower particularly around midday including David and Tegen. They were amazed by the scenery of the marsh and interested in the Hawk Watch. Weather: A moderate wind generally from the west, with slight movement north and south. Mostly overcast but with periods of partial cloud throughout the day. Rainy skies seemed to remain in the south west. Started to rain as we were finishing. The temperature remained around 10c and the visibility was good. Raptor Observations: Good numbers of Turkey Vulture (1891) started over the tower then moved to the north. Sharp-shinned Hawks (211) passed by for most of the day. American Kestrels (46) also were seen for most of the day but in lower numbers per hour. More Buteos today within the Turkey Vulture streams; Red-tailed Hawks (33), Red-shouldered Hawks (23) and a couple of late Broad-winged Hawks. The raptors of the day were two light phase Rough-legged Hawks, one to the north and one close to the Tower. A Golden Eagle was spotted early afternoon to the north. A total of 13 species were seen today, the most so far this season. Non-raptor Observations: Duck numbers continue to build with Ring-necked Ducks (740) and Gadwall (95) in good numbers. Ten duck species were seen. Blue Jays (7,970) seemed to be rejuvenated today, with Blackbirds keeping up a continuous chatter around the Tower. White-throated Sparrows (18) and Yellow-Rumped Warblers (14) are still abundant, feeding on the ground and low in the vegetation. It was nice to see some late warblers; Northern Parula, Nashville and Blackpoll. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S152782013 Predictions: Tomorrows forecast is looking good. A moderate wind from the north west, partially cloudy clearing during the afternoon. It will be a bit colder to start but temperatures should rise during the day. Likely we will get a similar mix to today, but lets hope for more numbers, especially Buteos. ======================================================================== 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