This is an official posting from the High Park Hawk Watch.
Station: High Park, Toronto, Ontario View Period: September 12 to September 18, 2004 Station co-ordinator: Don Barnett Counters: D. Barnett, B. Carswell, H Currie, N. McHugh, D. Milsom & H. Shapiro The absence of favorable weather conditions so far for viewing raptors at High Park has resulted in numbers below our historical averages. September 18th was the biggest day this year with 1080 Broad-winged Hawks and 172 Turkey Vultures observed. Given the time of year and the much larger numbers of Broad-winged Hawks observed at sites further along their migration path, such as Lake Erie Metropark near Detroit, it appears that the migration of Broad-winged Hawks has largely by-passed High Park this year. Our totals for the September 18th the past week and the year so far are: Species Sept10 Sept10-12 Year to Date Turkey Vulture..........172...........192..............199 Osprey....................4.............5...............14 Bald Eagle................4.............8...............11 Northern Harrier..........5.............8...............12 Sharp-Shinned Hawk......113...........242..............446 Cooper's Hawk............13............18...............35 Northern Goshawk..........-.............-................- Red-shouldered Hawk.......-.............-................- Broad-winged Hawk......1080..........1145.............1346 Red-tailed Hawk..........35............57..............118 Rough-legged Hawk.........-.............-................- Golden Eagle..............-.............-................- American Kestrel.........24............41...............65 Merlin....................-.............2................6 Peregrine Falcon..........-............10...............14 Other(Swainson's Hawk)....-.............-................- Unidentified..............6.............9...............27 Total..................1456..........1767.............2323 High Park Site Description High Park is a 400 acre wooded park dominated by a Black Oak Savannah located just west of Downtown Toronto near Keele and Bloor. The park is operated by the City of Toronto Parks Department. The Count site (Hawk Hill) is located on a small hill at the north end of the Grenadier Restaurant parking lot. It is located about 1.5km (1 mile) north of Lake Ontario, at an elevation of 110 metres above sea level and 38 metres above Lake Ontario. The site location is N 43 degrees 37 minutes 03.8 seconds, W 79 degrees 28 minutes 56.5 seconds. This station is at the highest point and near the centre of the park; a steep slope that descends to a large pond is immediately west of the station. Full time counts have been recorded here since 1993. The following are partners in our raptor migration monitoring in the Greater Toronto Region: City of Toronto Parks and Culture Department, Toronto Ornithological Club, and Local Naturalist's Clubs. More information including a summary of our past observations is available at: http://www.torontobirding.ca/~gtrw/ Observations for this season are not yet available. -- Howard Shapiro email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
