Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 17, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 1864 47562 49459 Osprey 0 2 23 Bald Eagle 7 145 272 Northern Harrier 15 210 733 Sharp-shinned Hawk 55 2269 7640 Cooper's Hawk 2 79 169 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 234 235 Broad-winged Hawk 0 72 4330 Red-tailed Hawk 12 877 1249 Rough-legged Hawk 2 2 2 Golden Eagle 0 13 13 American Kestrel 1 315 1687 Merlin 0 14 71 Peregrine Falcon 0 33 74 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 Mississippi Kite 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 2 Total: 1960 51828 65960 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Kiah Jasper Observers: Cameron Chevalier, Hugh Kent, Liz Kent, Michael Arthurs, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Paul Gosselin, Paul Pratt Visitors: Thanks to Paul G, Mike, Cameron, Michael, Hugh, Liz, Paul P and Noel for assisting with the count today. We were visited on the tower by Rose and Frank from Toronto and Meredith and Krzysztof from Winnipeg. Weather: Starting off with chilly 4 Degree C temperature, a clear sky and light North wind... Classic October Weather. The wind flipped around to Southwest/South later in the morning, where it remained for the rest of the day. The temperature climbed to a balmy 17 C in the afternoon, unfortunately this looks to be the start of a return to above seasonal Temps and a clear sunny sky... Which may last for the next 10+ days. The barometer rose from 30.05 to 30.23 Raptor Observations: It was fairly slow compared to the last several days for raptors, though we still recorded 1,960 birds. Turkey Vultures (1,864) made up the bulk of those numbers, their flight line shifting further and further inland as the day went on, until they were mere specks in the heat haze. The highlight of the day came just after 10:00, when two light morph Rough-legged Hawks (our first this season) flew over the back side of the marsh together. These gorgeous butoes are always a nice treat to see, and we look forward to seeing more as the season progresses. Non-raptor Observations: There was a strong morning flight of songbirds during the first few hours of the day, making up for the lack of raptors. Finches and blackbirds made up the majority of the flight, with highlights being; 117 Purple Finch, 6 Pine Siskin, 467 American Goldfinch, 50 Rusty Blackbirds, 2 Eastern Meadowlarks and 4,780 Red-winged Blackbirds. There was also a smattering of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Eastern Bluebirds and American Pipits mixed in. A lone Vesper Sparrow flew overhead in the morning, our first this season and not a bird that's recorded frequently here. Our first Tundra Swans of the season flew past the marsh, and several Horned Grebes floated out on Lake Erie. The highlight bird of the day was a Greater White-fronted Goose that flew into the marsh with a flock of Canada Geese late in the morning. This mainly western species isn't recorded often in Essex County and represents one of only a few records for HBMO. 79 species were recorded from the tower today, for the full eBird list click here -https://ebird.org/checklist/S199274636 Predictions: Tomorrow is expected to be similar to today for temperature, with clear skies and light wind from the Southwest. We don't expect a major flight, but there are always some raptors moving during sunny days this time of year. The flightline may be very distant again today though. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (kiahbirder@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