Holiday Beach Migration Observatory Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 20, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 27 294 294 Osprey 2 53 53 Bald Eagle 0 13 13 Northern Harrier 5 166 166 Sharp-shinned Hawk 131 2319 2319 Cooper's Hawk 2 47 47 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 5 27749 27749 Red-tailed Hawk 4 128 128 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 4 666 666 Merlin 0 24 24 Peregrine Falcon 0 7 7 Unknown 0 7 7 Total: 180 31473 31473 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Bob Hall-Brooks Observers: Chuck Gossel, Esther Gossel, Jim Crozier, Sylvia Telasco Visitors: A good crowd of welcome visitors joined me on the Tower to fill the pauses between birds. Weather: A cool start, a warm ending, with variable calm wind primarily East. Temperatures ranged from 13.1 to 27 degrees Celsius. Observations: After a Broad-winged weekend, things slowed considerably today. Only 163 raptors today, primarily Sharp-shinned Hawks. The first Green Heron of the season flew off a musk rat mound when an immature Black-crowned Night-heron descended upon it. Blue Jays numbered 870, Goldfinches only 41. Greater Yellowlegs and Kildeer were the only Shorebirds. Predictions: This weather is supposed to hold for the next few days. ======================================================================== 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).
