Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 08, 2013
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 2 37 44
Bald Eagle 14 14 14
Northern Harrier 7 22 27
Sharp-shinned Hawk 253 447 452
Cooper's Hawk 2 4 4
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 51 58 58
Red-tailed Hawk 9 10 10
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 53 115 128
Merlin 2 7 7
Peregrine Falcon 1 1 1
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: 394 715 745
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Dave Brown
Observers: Chris Burris, Don Taylor, Jason McGuire, Jim Dunn,
Mark Cunningham, Mary Carnahan, Paul Thomas
Visitors:
Quite a few visitors at the hawkwatch today along with several volunteer
observers. Thanks to everyone who helped spot the birds including Jim,
Mary, Chris, Jason, Don, Paul, Carol and Mark.
Weather:
The wind was more favourable today...strong from the NE for most of the day
then swinging slightly to ENE by mid-afternoon. The sky was completely
cloud covered to start the morning but within 3 hours the sky was totally
clear making spotting the birds extremely difficult. The temp this morning
started at 20C and reached a high of just 23C. The humidity dropped off
quickly after the first hour or so.
Raptor Observations:
I suspect today's total would've been much higher if our cloud deck hadn't
disappeared so early in the day. In many cases we only found passing
Broadwings and Sharpies because of focusing in on a soaring Bald Eagle at
height.
Despite the difficult viewing conditions, today's flight wasn't too bad
with a total of 394 raptors.
Early on, the Sharpies were pushing through in good numbers just above
treetop height along what we call "Sharpie Alley". Our first N. Harrier of
the day was a bit of a surprise...a nice male...a bird we wouldn't normally
expect till later in the season. American Kestrels were passing through in
small numbers each hour along with only 2 Merlins and a single Peregrine.
The first Broadwings were spotted just after 10:00 a.m. (EST) with a few
tallied each of the next 4 hours. We also counted several Bald Eagles
today.
Non-raptor Observations:
Things were VERY quiet non-raptorwise this morning, with even the Catbirds
apparently lying low. No warbler, vireo or sparrow species were reported
today, but the Ruby-throated Hummingbird parade continued, after a slow
start. Between 7:30 and 11:00 AM, observers on the knoll counted 31
hummers blasting across the field. However, those who went seeking them in
the jewelweed found very few.
There were several flybys of Canada Geese, plus 2 Great Blue Herons,
flocks of Double-crested Cormorants and a large flock of Mallards reported
by observers on the knoll and although Gulls were seen over the field from
time to time, the mob that has been hanging around below the cliff seemed
to have spread way out today, enjoying some space. Despite their distance
from the viewers, we did get good looks from the edge of the cliff of many
Herring and Ring-billed Gulls, a few Bonaparte's Gulls and 2 Caspian Terns.
Norther Flickers continue to be noisy and active, flying back and forth
across the field, except that this morning, one of them was a Belted
Kingfisher. A Baltimore Oriole, Common Nighthawk and what appeared to be
an American Bittern were also noted flying across the field.
The bug of the day was a Giant Swallowtail along the Cliff. Other
butterflies recorded included 25 Monarchs, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur,
Clouded Sulphur, Summer Azure, Northern Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Common
Sootywing, Black Swallowtail and Eastern Tailed Blue. And where are the
Buckeyes of yesteryear? So far we have had one at the Cliff. The dragonfly
population at the Cliff continues to grow daily, mainly Green Darners,
Black Saddlebags, Meadowhawks (Cherry-faced, we think), and today there was
a single Red (or Carolina) Saddlebags patrolling a little section of weeds
near the Cliff.
Predictions:
South winds tomorrow are not likely to bring much of a flight though there
may be a few Osprey and Kestrels along the cliff itself.
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Report submitted by Dave Brown ([email protected])
Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at:
http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm
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