Holiday Beach Conservation Area
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 21, 2012
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 1023 21327 24029
Osprey 0 15 81
Bald Eagle 0 25 123
Northern Harrier 27 117 352
Sharp-shinned Hawk 93 1670 4992
Cooper's Hawk 24 211 357
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 18 36 48
Broad-winged Hawk 0 94 6055
Red-tailed Hawk 27 249 524
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 4 6
American Kestrel 2 135 890
Merlin 0 19 71
Peregrine Falcon 3 22 47
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 8
Unknown Buteo 0 3 6
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 0 5
Black Vulture 0 0 1
Gyrfalcon 0 1 1
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 2
Total: 1217 23930 37599
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Todd Pepper
Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks, Bob Pettit, Carol Pitts, Ed Pitts,
Jason Craft, Jim McCoy, Kory Renaud, Rayfield Pye
Visitors:
Another busy Sunday on the tower with people from near and far. The "near"
people totalled 18 from Gesto, Colchester, Amherstburg, Windsor, Tecumseh,
and LaSalle. Slightly further afield was a gentleman from Hoyton Lake,
Michigan, and a couple from Ann Arbor.
Rayfield Pye, a regular from down Oshawa way, brought family members out
including his brother and wife from British Columbia and his sister from
St. Johns, Newfoundland. At the end of the day a family of 4 from Ottawa
came and spent an hour on the tour.
Weather:
A bright sunny day with temperatures 9C - 16.5C; winds were moderate
generally out of the south-west.
Raptor Observations:
It started off slow but turned into a reasonable day with 1,217 birds of 8
species. Highlights included the first major movement of Red-shouldered
Hawks at 18 birds, and 3 Peregrine Falcons.
Non-raptor Observations:
A busy non-raptor count day. The big count species were Blue Jay at 6,940;
American Crow at 5,740; American Robin at 625; and, Red-winged Blackbird at
13,570. The more interesting birds included: an Plegadis sp. that flew
north over the marsh to the west of the tower so we did not see it's face
for very long; 2 Common Nighthawk; 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird; 7 Eastern
Bluebird; 6 American Pipit; and, 8 Purple Finch. Also noted were
Red-headed, Red-bellied and Downy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker,
Red-breasted Nuthatch, Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Meadowlark and Rusty
Blackbird.
Predictions:
Another sunny day with temperatures from 7C - 20C. Winds are going to be
out of the south again, however, which does not bode well for migration.
Winds speed is projected at 10 km/hr all day.
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Report submitted by Todd Pepper ([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/
