Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 30, 2009
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 364 469 482
Osprey 1 124 130
Bald Eagle 0 144 162
Northern Harrier 5 256 281
Sharp-shinned Hawk 511 3988 4014
Cooper's Hawk 2 75 77
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 3 3 3
Broad-winged Hawk 41 22054 22081
Red-tailed Hawk 3 47 52
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 1 1
American Kestrel 72 2002 2016
Merlin 1 47 50
Peregrine Falcon 1 53 56
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: 1004 29263 29405
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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, Jennifer Lyon
Observers: Colin Horstead, Dave Stimac, Dave Verkley, Dave Weare,
Derek Lyon, Jennifer Lyon, Jim Dunn, Keith Sealy,
Mary Carnahan, Ronnie Goodhand, Wayne Parnall
Visitors:
Thanks to Dave Stimac (Metamora MI) who helped with spotting and
identifying the birds today. It's always good to have another set of
experienced eyes at the hawkwatch. :)
Weather:
Light NW to start then shifting slightly to moderate from the NW. Cool
today with a high of just 11C under lots of cloud cover. Unfortunately, the
rain plagued the count period causing the flight to stop and start several
times.
Raptor Observations:
Despite the rain, the total for the day was a respectable 1004 raptors.
Half of today's flight was Sharpies (511) along with a small push of TV's
(364) and some lagging Broadwings (41). The first Red-shouldered Hawks (3)
appeared today one of which was a nice adult bird that gave the counters a
decent look.
Non-raptor Observations:
Another great day for watching the passerines as well with good numbers of
warblers: Common Yellowthroat, Nashville, Magnolia, Cape May, Blackpoll, BT
Blue, BT Green...along with Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Eastern
Bluebirds, 1000+ Blue Jays, 500+ Goldfinches, Indigo Buntings and Killdeer.
Predictions:
The winds are supposed to be W thursday....and the way today went there
could be a few birds "in the pipeline" that might push through in the
morning. At least there's supposed to be more sun and little chance of
rain.
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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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