Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 13, 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 120 15664 19055 Osprey 0 13 193 Bald Eagle 0 36 175 Northern Harrier 4 93 645 Sharp-shinned Hawk 87 1642 7295 Cooper's Hawk 2 52 138 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 20 23 Broad-winged Hawk 0 4 37168 Red-tailed Hawk 19 346 717 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 2 3 American Kestrel 4 160 2904 Merlin 0 10 74 Peregrine Falcon 2 35 115 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: 238 18080 68508 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 11:00:00 Total observation time: 3.5 hours Official Counter: Colin Horstead Observers: Jim Dunn, Ronnie Goodhand Visitors: Paul Nicholson of the London Free Press was visiting with the counters today....thanks to Colin, Ronnie and Jim for even attempting today's tally. :) Weather: A mostly cloudy start to the day with the cloud deck lowering as rain approached..eventually shutting down the count at 11:00. Temp cold to start as the mercury dipped below zero overnight...and got to a high of just 10c. Winds were not the best being moderate from the SSE for the morning. Raptor Observations: Somewhat unexpectedly, there were actually birds that moved this morning and by the time the count was halted the toal birds tallied was 238. We had expected a better up flight of TVs (120), yet considering inclement weather conditions, we were pleasantly surprised to see so many Sharpies (87)...many passing through 3 at a time and then 5 all together several times. Other species on the fly included N. Harriers (4), Kestrels (4), Cooper's Hawks (2), Redtails (19) and a couple of adult Peregrines...one quite largish looking(likely female)...and a smaller one (likely male). The assumed female decided to strut her stuff by performing a spectacular aerobatic display in front of the observers...enjoyed by all! Non-raptor Observations: Blue jays were still on the move today before the rains came....and the only other thing mentioned was a single dragonfly (sp. unknown). Predictions: More unsettled weather for Sunday with showers early...not looking great for any kind of flight. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown ([email protected]) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm _______________________________________________ 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/
