Hello; This report gives a two day Hilite total & a total two day count .
Sat. Sept. 11/04 - 4 BE -1 adult & 3 subadult"1" 2 OS - 78 BW total count = 124 total hrs =4 Sun. Sept 12/04 - 2 OS - 133 BW total count = 145 hrs =3 ISRW can be found from the east or west by driving north on Brock St Hwy12 at Whitby . Drive past Taunton Rd about 2.5 km turn left at Spencers Rd. Turn left at Ashburn Rd & park by the gate . Follow the S path ,after passing the Cedars take the path leading north, this will bring you to the observation platform . While on the platform you will have a 360 degree view ! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Sep 12 21:23:39 2004 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from taiga.com (mugwump.taiga.com [68.165.54.133]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4237647FB8 for <[email protected]>; Sun, 12 Sep 2004 21:23:38 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 29732 invoked by uid 525); 13 Sep 2004 01:17:14 -0000 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 12 Sep 2004 09:09:14 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Holiday Beach (12 Sep 2004) 161 Raptors X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 01:23:39 -0000 Holiday Beach Migration Observatory Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 12, 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 3 26 26 Bald Eagle 0 1 1 Northern Harrier 11 68 68 Sharp-shinned Hawk 116 695 695 Cooper's Hawk 2 4 4 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 6 35 35 Red-tailed Hawk 0 9 9 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 15 233 233 Merlin 5 9 9 Peregrine Falcon 1 1 1 Unknown 2 6 6 Total: 161 1087 1087 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Bob Hall-Brooks Observers: Tom Hince Visitors: The Festival of the Hawks completed its first weekend with many interesting and interested visitors to the Tower and the Festival area. Weather: Hot merciless sun beating down, 5% cloud cover, light wids from West to South,barometer at 30.12 to 30.17 inches of mercury. Visibility clear. Observations: A falcon day surprisingly with one Peregrine,five Merlins and 15 American Kestrels. Sharp-shinned Hawks numbered 116 with two Coopers Hawks, eleven Northern Harriers, six only Broad-winged Hawks and 3 Osprey. American Goldfinches outnumbered Cedar Waxwings today. Kildeer and Greater Yellowlegs were the only shorebirds seen. Marsh birds included Common Moorhen, American Coot, Pied-billed Grebes and Black-crowned Night Herons. Bue Jays are starting to make noise but little movement yet. Dragonflies abound with Black Saddlebags outnumbering the Eastern Amberwings, 12-spotted Skimmers, Green Darners, and Eastern Pondhawks. Predictions: We have entered the traditional eight-day window for Broad-winged Hawk movement. Its up to Mother Nature now. May she bless us with northerly winds. =======================================================================Report submitted by Bob Hall-Brooks ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at: http://hbmo.org/ Holiday Beach Migration Observatory Information on southern Ontario's hawk migration and the Holiday Beach Conservation Area site ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Southwestern Ontario is largely an area of flat, featureless farmland. There are only two geographic features of note in the region. One is the proximity of the Great lakes, which influence bird migration in the area to a great extent, The second is the shape of the province, roughly funnel-shaped with the narrow end to the southwest. These features confine south-bound bird migrants, especially hawks, to specific flight corridors. Holiday Beach Conservation Area was formerly a Provincial Park, but is now administered by the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA). It is strategically located at the extreme southwestern tip of southern Ontario. The park is on the eastern end of a large freshwater estuary known as Big Creek. (Specifically the site is 1.1 miles south of the junction Highway 20 (old 18) and Essex Road 50, Town of Amherstburg). The Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO) (founded in 1986) is a non-profit, volunteer organization formed to promote the study and protection of migrating birds. Activities focus primarily on fall migration of raptors and other species. This site is in Essex County, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Erie near the Detroit River. In 1988, HBMO persuaded Detroit Edison to donate a 40 foot Hawk Tower which is now at the site. Southwestern Ontario has a funneling effect on migrating raptors due to the geography of the nearby lakes and the reluctance of most raptors to cross large bodies of water. Birds gain altitude over the flat farmland to the north and east, rising easily with the thermals that such areas provide in abundance. As the birds head south they meet Lake Erie and, reluctant to cross it , turn west. With appropriate wind and weather conditions, birds pile up along the lake shore and move west until they reach the narrow crossing at the Detroit River (or island hop within the river mouth).
