Grimsby, ON - Beamer Conservation Area Grimsby, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: May 03, 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 38 67 6022 Osprey 0 0 37 Bald Eagle 0 1 70 Northern Harrier 0 2 117 Sharp-shinned Hawk 32 57 1679 Cooper's Hawk 2 2 131 Northern Goshawk 0 0 6 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 732 Broad-winged Hawk 6 13 5470 Red-tailed Hawk 20 27 2815 Rough-legged Hawk 2 2 90 Golden Eagle 0 0 12 American Kestrel 1 1 68 Merlin 2 2 10 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 7 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 6 Unknown Buteo 0 0 30 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 70 Total: 103 176 17372 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Brian Mishell Observers: John Black, Mike Matthews Visitors: Two visitors N. Ireland, Ken Perry and John Clark, these are banders and were visiting with Jim Smith another bander from Dunnville.John Ryell from Port Credit. Weather: Wind speeds were light in the morning but picked up in the afternoon.Sunny to partly cloudy, cool wind from the South to SW. Visibility was good. Raptor Observations: 2 merlins today low and over the Quarry at 10.12 and 10.46. 2 rough-legged one one at1.05 and a dark morph 2.17, The afternoon birds were primarily over the lake and quite high.Definitely binocs were handy. Non-raptor Observations: Many blue jays around for most of the day keeping us awake when it got slow,6 great blue herons, saw many migrating pine siskins,a female r.b. grosbeak at 11.44, and plenty of puple martins. Predictions: Another typical May count would be expected tomorrow. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brian Mishell () Beamer Conservation Area, Grimsby, ON information may be found at: http://www.hwcn.org/link/niaghawk/ Site Description: The hawk migration at the Beamer Memorial Conservation Area is conducted by the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch (NPH). The counting is all done by volunteers. Not all members are counters nor does a counter have to be a member. Typically one person is the designated counter for each day but other observers present assist with the spotting and identification. Counting is done from a steel observation tower with a wooden floor. For wind protection on the cold days of March, a black plastic wind guard is installed around the towers platform. This platform easily accommodates ten people but on most busy days, no more than five or six observers would be on it. The site lies within a publically accessible property owned by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. There is no charge for admittance. The tower stands in the centre of a mowed area with a gravel ring road near the outer edge. This provides lots of room to park vehicles (along the road) and set up lawn chairs, telescopes and cameras. Toilet facilities are present. During the counting season, the NPH erect a counting board to display the days observations for the public. The box enclosing the sign contains brochures and silhouette sheets for the public as well as bulletin boards with news and historical sighting records. Directions to site: To get to Beamer CA, take the QEW to Exit 72, follow Christie St./Mountain St. to the top of the escarpment, turn right on Ridge Road West, and go 1.6km to Quarry Rd. Turn right on Quarry Rd. and drive 100m to the conservation area. Parking is normally available inside the park. If parking at the entrance or on the roads, do NOT leave valuables in your car. Please note: Data in this report is not official until reviewed and finalized after the end of the season. © 2009 Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
