Holiday Beach Conservation Area
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 02, 2011
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 3356 4688 5255
Osprey 6 19 174
Bald Eagle 2 4 149
Northern Harrier 51 112 494
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1823 2575 9389
Cooper's Hawk 39 51 406
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 330 728 43222
Red-tailed Hawk 19 32 106
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 1
American Kestrel 506 2978 4444
Merlin 1 5 92
Peregrine Falcon 1 11 49
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 12
Unknown Buteo 0 0 5
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 5
Unknown Raptor 0 1 9
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 2
Total: 6134 11205 63814
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Observation start time: 06:45:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.25 hours
Official Counter: Sarah Rupert
Observers: Jason Craft, Jim McCoy, Kory Renaud, Larry Ludwicki,
Olga Klekner, Sarah Renaud, Stephen Kolbe
Visitors:
We had lots of Visitors to the tower today, including students from Earl
University in Indiana, Ellen and Carlos from London, Dwight Bourdin and
family, and many more - it was a regular party on the tower for a while
today! Special shout and thanks to Larry for keeping track of all the
vulture numbers and Steve for spending his day off on the tower and being
such a big help with the count.
Weather:
It was very windy again today, though a little calmer than the two previous
days. The day started out with clear skies and gradually built to mainly
cloudy. Winds were from the NW to the most part and variable with some
very strong gusts towards the end of the afternoon. Wind conditions kept
the birds low, which made observations much easier.
Raptor Observations:
It was a big day for Sharp-shinned Hawks, with 1823 recorded passing the
tower. We saw many more adult birds in the mix than in previous days.
Turkey Vultures had their first big push today, with 3356 noted. While not
as impressive as yesterday, there were also a large number of Am. Kestrels
noted (506)
Non-raptor Observations:
With all the wind and all the raptors to keep our attention, passerines had
less focus today. There were large groups of Tree Swallows moving through,
a few N. Rough-winged Swallows were also noted. Pine Siskins and Am.
Goldfinches were on the move and Rusty Blackbirds were also noted (43).
One of the favourite sightings of the day was a Pectoral Sandpiper taking
advantage and flying with a flock of Canada Geese.
Predictions:
If the showers hold off until the later in the afternoon, north winds and
cloudy conditions could make for another good count day.
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Report submitted by Sarah Rupert ([email protected])
Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at:
http://hbmo.org/
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ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to [email protected]
For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
