Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 10, 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 3 2659 31797 Osprey 0 0 82 Bald Eagle 0 13 152 Northern Harrier 2 24 445 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 107 5518 Cooper's Hawk 2 66 585 Northern Goshawk 1 3 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 195 472 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 6055 Red-tailed Hawk 3 1850 3260 Rough-legged Hawk 0 5 15 Golden Eagle 0 21 30 American Kestrel 0 4 937 Merlin 0 3 87 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 51 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 9 Unknown Buteo 0 16 22 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Raptor 0 0 5 Black Vulture 0 0 1 Gyrfalcon 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 3 Total: 11 4967 49532 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Justin Bosler Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks, Claude Radley, Larry Ludwicki Visitors: Aside from the HBMO crew, there were 8 visitors before I left and a family of 5 heading up to the Tower when I was leaving. I'm predicting a bigger turnout tomorrow with the unseasonably nice weather. Weather: Overcast and hazy conditions persisted throughout the morning with some afternoon clearing, mostly after 2:00 PM. Temperature started out around 9.5 C and increased to about 12.5 C. Winds ranged from 5 to 15+ kph out of the SSE early before turning slightly to SE, and even ESE at times. Raptor Observations: The first raptor of the day at 9:33 AM happened to be the best one, a juvenile Northern Goshawk. Needless to say, no semblance of a flight ever developed today. Four raptors in the last hour was the highest single-hour total. Of the 11 total raptors tallied, five species were identified. Non-raptor Observations: Despite it being a lousy day for raptor migration, there were a few non-raptors worthy of mention. The best bird of the day was CAVE SWALLOW, in fact, at least 2 of them. I picked up on a few swallows in the morning that I believed to be Tree, but the haze and overcast skies precluded an identification. Later, at 1:45 PM, I was scoping waterfowl on the water when a Cave Swallow popped into my field of view. I soon spotted a second, and possibly a third. They continued to forage over the NE corner of the marsh, above tree height, through 3:00 PM. After leaving the Tower I went over to the campground to try and get closer to them for photos. The best vantage point would have been in the vicinity of Blind #6, but that blind was occupied by hunters. Unfortunately, they stayed well out in the marsh away from the wood's edge. After 3:00 PM I could only confirm two individuals. Several flocks of Cedar Waxwings passed, numbering at least 269. Finches were also moving today. At least 5 and possibly 11 Common Redpolls were recorded. A small flock of White-winged Crossbills (5-6) may have contained one Red. About 60 Pine Siskins were tallied as were roughly 230 American Goldfinches. A couple of flocks of Rusty Blackbirds numbered 120+. There were also Lapland Longspurs moving in small numbers. Predictions: Mostly sunny and warm - up to 16 C - with strong S winds at 30-50 kph. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Justin Bosler ([email protected]) Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at: http://hbmo.org/ _______________________________________________ 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/
