Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 28, 2009
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 13
Osprey 2 121 127
Bald Eagle 0 137 155
Northern Harrier 0 246 271
Sharp-shinned Hawk 7 3441 3467
Cooper's Hawk 0 71 73
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 22011 22038
Red-tailed Hawk 0 44 49
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 1 1
American Kestrel 1 1903 1917
Merlin 0 44 47
Peregrine Falcon 9 47 50
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 19 28066 28208
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Colin Horstead
Observers: Derek Lyon, Jennifer Lyon, Jim Dunn, Kathy, Keith Sealy,
Mark Cunningham, Mary Carnahan, Shay Redmond,
Su Ross-Redmond
Visitors:
Arlene ? (no last name noted) and very few others. A BIG thanks to the
diehards....Colin, Mark, Jen & Derek, Shay & Su, Jim D., Mary, Kathy and
Keith for sticking it out today to provide a count. Eventually, everyone
packed it in because there was more debris flying through the air than
birds! Yikes!
Weather:
Wow! Gale force wind warnings were up starting after midnight and wind
speeds continued to climb throughout the day. Winds were initially very
strong from the SSW then gained strength and shifted to SW and eventually
WSW. This is the first time I think we've ever recorded multiple hours of
>75kph winds...with gusts hitting 100kph. There was a lot of cloud cover
and the rain moved in during a couple different hours...but the sky would
then break out once more. Temp was much cooler reaching just 15C thanks to
the intense low passing eastward with an associated cold front .
Raptor Observations:
Well...no surprise...just 19 raptors tallied today...and 9 were Peregrines.
The counters noted that some of these Peregrines passed inland of the knoll
watch site along what we call "Sharpie Alley"...while others were on the
deck right along the cliff edge or slightly below. With such strong winds,
even the Peregrines were rowing hard to make headway...not something we've
seen them do very often.
Non-raptor Observations:
Not much in the way of passerines reported...but incredibly a strong push
of Monarchs today with clusters of 10-11 at a time being seen...despite the
SW gales! We've seen this before on rainy, humid days even with strong
winds...it doesn't seem to deter the Monarchs.
Predictions:
Well...not sure what to think of Tuesday with predicted strong NW winds. If
the rain is very scattered or possibly just passing thunderstorms, then we
may see some interesting birds tomorrow. Peregrines will fly on such a
wind...and anything that's trying to move through will almost certainly be
blown down to the lakeshore and thus towards the hawkwatch.
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Report submitted by Dave Brown ([email protected])
Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at:
http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm
Site Description:
The Hawk Cliff Hawk watch is located just east of Port Stanley on the cliff
overlooking Lake Erie. Over the years the Hawk Cliff site has grown in
popularity and today it is recognized as one of the prime fall migration
hawk watching destinations in North America.
Every year hundreds of birders (and non-birders!) from Canada, the U.S.
and other countries visit the site. Knowledgeable volunteers are always on
hand to assist visitors with raptor identification and to raise public
awareness on the subject of raptor migration.
Birders can normally expect to see some 15 different raptor species with
typical count totals reaching several thousand birds per day. The count
season is from September 1st to November 30th.
On a few exceptional occasions lucky visitors have witnessed the amazing
spectacle of over 100,000 raptors of various species migrating past Hawk
Cliff in a single day!
Hawk Cliff hawkwatch is a great location for visitors to come to learn
about raptors and their migration. We cater to school groups, and will
arrange to provide special live bird demos for the kids (if possible)
depending on the day's flight.
Please visit the Hawk Cliff Foundation website listed above for more
detailed information and special events.
Directions to site:
>From east 401, take the Highbury south cut off at London, follow Highbury
(Hwy 30) south to St. Thomas. Highbury changes into South Edgeware at a
large curve in the road to the west. Follow South Edgeware west to the
first set of traffic lights - Burwell Road, turn left (south) and stay on
this road. It becomes Fairview Ave (Regional Road 22), which runs directly
into Hawk Cliff Road. You will see a sign for Hawkes Cliff Farm, where they
sell fresh vegetables and a gravel road just beyond sign. Just continue
down gravel road to viewing area.
>From west 401, take the Highway # 4 (Colonel Talbot Rd.) exit south,
through Talbotville, road now is Sunset Rd. continue towards St. Thomas;
you will come to a veer in the road, straight up to St. Thomas, veer to the
right for Port Stanley, follow Highway 4, now Sunset to Port Stanley. As
you approach Port Stanley you will come to a large curve in the road with
a sign saying East St, to the left. Take East St., and follow it to the
first road left, (opposite Port Stanley Water Tower) Dexter Line. Follow
Dexter Line approximately 2 km. and turn right down gravel road at Hawkes
Cliff Farm, and follow gravel road to viewing area
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