Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 02, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 832 1339 68527 Osprey 0 0 46 Bald Eagle 1 12 271 Northern Harrier 1 6 753 Sharp-shinned Hawk 8 76 8862 Cooper's Hawk 2 7 317 American Goshawk 0 1 5 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 35 409 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 56725 Red-tailed Hawk 22 180 1759 Rough-legged Hawk 1 4 8 Golden Eagle 1 2 14 American Kestrel 1 3 2611 Merlin 1 1 128 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 89 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: 870 1667 140524 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent Observers: Juliette Herdman, Liz Kent, Noel Herdman Visitors: Thanks again to Noel and Juliette for helping out observing and recording. It was good to see Dennis again who was lucky to see the Rough-legged Hawk. Weather: The wind was generally from the south, varying from strong to very strong. Overcast skies cleared slightly by mid afternoon, slightly aiding the visibility. The temperature started at 4c and gradually rose to 9c as the skies cleared. Raptor Observations: A quiet day, made up for by a sighting of a Golden Eagle to the north, flying low through the trees. The white wing patches and broad white tail base shone out well, confirming it was an immature. A Rough-winged Hawk light phase, travelling with a bunch of American Crows also provided a great view. Turkey Vultures (832) again took a familiar pattern of passing north in the morning and then coming over the Tower in the early afternoon. Red-tailed Hawks (22) chose their own routes, varying from north to over the Tower. All Raptors were low today, given overcast skies and strong winds. We saw singles only of Bald Eagle, American Kestrel and Merlin. Non-raptor Observations: Ducks increased in numbers today with significant flocks of Gadwall (860), Green-winged Teal (660), Ring-necked Duck (910) and Mallard (670). Pied-billed Grebe were successfully fishing in the corner of the marsh near the Tower. Presumably a good shoal of fish in the marsh near the Trout Pond attracted many gulls including Bonaparte's Gull (21) and Ring-billed Gull (50). American Crows (690) are still migrating as are Cedar Waxwing (391) and Rusty Blackbird (368). There are few small birds in the bushes around the Tower, but a Winter Wren was seen. This list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S153603866 Predictions: Tomorrow's forecast is similar to today with strong winds from the south south west. The temperature will be higher than today ending at 13c in the late afternoon. The skies will be partially cloudy becoming overcast in the afternoon. The big question is will the Turkey Vultures keep coming, as we are approaching the year record number! Hopefully buteos will keep coming. ======================================================================== 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