Hey there,
Ian and I met about 10 hardy birders on a rather cool Saturday morning at Hawk Cliff for late migrating raptors and other sightings. As the movements of hawks began rather late we didn't leave the cliff until about 2 pm, but by that point we had seen our target species. Included were 5 Golden Eagles, 4 of which were immature, some at good viewing distance, and 3 Northern Goshawks, 2 of which were immature, at high altitude unfortunately, and a dozen or more Red-shouldered Hawks of various age, one particularly close bird. Many Red-tails were moving today as well as a few Harrier, Coopers and Sharp-shinned. A number of Turkey Vultures were noted and three Bald Eagles put in an appearance. I think a few saw a Roughleg or two, and one was captured and banded I heard. We had started about half way up the Hawk Cliff road, as we noted the wind was out of the north, but not too stiff, and the official Hawk Cliff counters had moved up there. Reports of some movement came in from north of Dexter Line, so we drove up there. Yes, a few started moving through about 11 am, but since the wind came up even more, we noted that the small kettles forming were indeed being pushed towards the lake so by 12:30 we moved back to the original spot. Just after 1, after noting quite a few red-tails and other species, the eagles started appearing. We left about 2 pm in order to get the next two places covered. Besides the raptors, a number of passerine species were noted at the Cliff. We had at least two Fox Sparrow, a Tufted Titmouse, a number of White-throated Sparrow, several Eastern Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing, one Golden-crowned Kinglet only, three Wood Duck, and a number of others. Flicker, Hairy, Downy, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers were found there and one couple had a Pileated as they approached Hawk Cliff. I should mention that another person had a few swans, probably Tundra, on the way. I saw a number of Wild Turkey on my way home. Following the lake, presumably migrating were numbers of American Pipit, 100 or so, in one large flock. Also moving today, goldfinch and bluebirds and some blackbird sp. A few Common Loon were seen coming from the north, amounting to about 9. We headed over to the Port Stanley Harbour where a large number of common species of gulls, ring-bill and herring, were loafing. A few Great Black-backed were also noted. A lone Dunlin was hanging around. A Bald Eagle was seen over the town. We then headed up to the sewage lagoons, where a number of waterfowl were seen. These included Northern Shoveller, Green-winged Teal, Ruddy, American Wigeon, Ring-necked, one female scaup, a few Redhead, Hooded Merganser, Mallard, and Bufflehead. A few Bonaparte's Gulls were noted as well. >From there the group dissolved and headed off. Altogether about 40 species of birds. Thanks to all of those who came out and enjoyed looks at our target species. The weather held out quite well, wind being mostly out of the north pushing the birds towards the lake for viewing fun. There was a variety of clouds but with some sunshine, so that many birds were seen in excellent light. Pete Read and for Ian Platt _______________________________________________ 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/
