Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 29, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 570 2127 2127 Osprey 4 40 40 Bald Eagle 3 118 118 Northern Harrier 22 356 356 Sharp-shinned Hawk 108 5058 5058 Cooper's Hawk 5 87 87 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 57 56463 56463 Red-tailed Hawk 8 160 160 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 61 1043 1043 Merlin 2 94 94 Peregrine Falcon 2 33 33 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: 842 65579 65579 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent Observers: Ian Woodfield, Liz Kent, Peter Veighey Visitors: Big thanks to Ian, Peter, Josh, David and Jane for helping observe today. We will miss David and Jane who are heading back home to Ottawa. It was good to meet Phil who showed an interest in the Hawk Watch. Weather: The day started overcast with the wind light to moderate generally from the north. Visibility was about 5km to start with but gradually improved through the day. Temperature was in the high teens until late afternoon when the wind changed to the south and the temperature increased to mid twenties, and the sky cleared slightly. Raptor Observations: Turkey Vulture kettles were seen today with one over 100 in the late afternoon after the wind changed, the sky started to clear, temperature increased and thermals started to be generated. A total of 570 were seen beating Sharp-shinned Hawks (108) who came second. We continue to see Broad-winged Hawk (57) stragglers mostly with the Turkey Vultures. Northern Harriers (22) and American Kestrels (61) came in better numbers. Eleven species were seen. Non-raptor Observations: The Blue Jay tap is full on with over 50k seen today. Lots of squawking and diving into the trees! Another good day for Warblers with eleven species seen including a late Northern Waterthrush. The mix of Warblers was similar to the previous two days with Yellow-rumped Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Northern Parula and Nashville Warbler seen the most. Lots of American Goldfinch (515) were seen heading west over the Tower. It was good to see two Trumpeter Swans fly over the marsh early in the day and the seasons first Rusty Blackbird perched for photos. Ducks again are numerous with a good number of Green-winged Teal (128) resting on the marsh. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S151034360 Predictions: Tomorrow is forecast to be sunny with partial clouds and a gentle breeze from the north east initially, changing to south east early afternoon. Turkey Vultures will probably continue their migration build up and hopefully American Kestrel numbers will continue to grow. ======================================================================== 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