Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 1147 47711 49166 Osprey 1 15 82 Bald Eagle 4 64 168 Northern Harrier 11 323 645 Sharp-shinned Hawk 8 3190 8034 Cooper's Hawk 5 127 181 Northern Goshawk 1 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 15 212 215 Broad-winged Hawk 0 152 16636 Red-tailed Hawk 82 550 653 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 6 13 13 American Kestrel 0 422 1516 Merlin 1 21 58 Peregrine Falcon 0 24 42 Unknown Accipiter 1 7 14 Unknown Buteo 2 54 80 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Raptor 0 10 22 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 1284 52897 77530 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 9.5 hours Official Counter: Jenna McDermott Observers: Jim McCoy, Michael Williamson Visitors: 7 people visited to enjoy the birds and the beautiful weather Weather: Surprisingly warm with very little wind made for a comfortable day. What little breeze there was came from combinations of east and south all day until the last hour of count when it switched to the ENE. Cloud cover increased as the day wore on, but was always nice wispy clouds, providing a good sky for spotting, and allowing the sun to continue to warm us. Raptor Observations: An 11 species day can never be bad but to enjoy this one a scope was necessary. Birds flew far to the north all day, starting the morning with Sharp-shinned, Cooper's Hawks and Northern Harriers, and then with the Turkey Vultures came a good number of Red-tailed Hawks and a smattering of Red-shouldered Hawks. Two Merlins were some of the only birds that flew close to the tower, with one migrating and a different one flying to the east. One Osprey was present and hunting the marsh through the day, and a few migrating Bald Eagles appeared high in the sky. To our great happiness we had 6 Golden Eagles! Four came during an exciting 40 minute period in the afternoon. The scope provided good looks at all five immature birds, as well as an adult. Our other big moment was when an adult Northern Goshawk steadily powered low over the trees on the north shore of the marsh, thankfully staying in view long enough to get a good look and ID. All in all, a day of success! Non-raptor Observations: A surprisingly large group of Killdeer (34) flew by together, and then another group of 11 later on! A Greater Yellowlegs, and a Wilson's Snipe made up the rest of the shorebirds. Cormorant numbers continue to drop, and ducks and other waterbirds still provide good variety. Over 2000 crows flew past and Blue Jays were sporadic, only getting to 140. There was a little selection of kinglets, sparrows, and chickadees at the base of the tower. Cedar Waxwings, American Robins, an Eastern Bluebird, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, House Finches, Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches migrated in small flocks. A few groups of Rusty Blackbirds arrived with Red-winged Blackbirds, and provided some entertainment by jumping around and feeding on low vegetation in the pond. 1 Monarch. See today's eBird list http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25561357 Predictions: Another comparatively mild day with winds from the east. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jenna McDermott (jmcdermo@alumni.uoguelph.ca) Holiday Beach Conservation Area information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/