Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 15, 2014
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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 8 40 40
Bald Eagle 0 27 27
Northern Harrier 1 93 103
Sharp-shinned Hawk 66 804 814
Cooper's Hawk 0 19 20
Northern Goshawk 0 1 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 6 5665 5696
Red-tailed Hawk 0 15 15
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 120 393 426
Merlin 0 12 13
Peregrine Falcon 1 11 11
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
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1
Total: 202 7081 7167
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Jennifer Lyon
Observers: Bill Read, Bob Johnstone, Derek Lyon, Jason McGuire,
Jim Dunn, Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan, Ronnie Goodhand,
Tom Bolohan
Visitors:
Just a few visitors today...and a big thanks to the gang of volunteers who
were out to do the count today.
Weather:
Better day than expected considering the predicted SW winds but clouds came
in sooner than expected too. Temp was steady most of the day from 15C to
16C.
Raptor Observations:
Decent variety of species and great early day counts of Kestrels that came
in groups of 5, 6, 8 & 10 at a time. The lone Peregrine for the day came
through "the bite" slow enough for the counters to get great views of a
juvenile (smallish so probable male) while it cruised on through.
Total for the day was 202 and as expected on SW winds the bulk of the
flight was Kestrels (120) and a number of Osprey (8) along with Sharpies
(66), N. Harrier (1) and just a few Broadwings (6).
Non-raptor Observations:
We did not get a long list of non-raptor sightings today but there were a
couple of great sightings nonetheless. The highlights are 2 new species
for Hawk Cliff this season -- a Green Heron found at the pond and a
Black-crowned Nightheron which flew across the field in front of hawk
watchers. Other bird sightings included Kingfisher, lots of Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds but mainly feeding rather than actively migrating, with some
chasing each other across the field in any direction other than west.
Swifts and Swallows (Tree, Barn and 1 Cliff) were seen mainly during the
morning hours and again today a single Common Loon was seen heading towards
the lake. Observers reported only 4 Warblers today -- Nashville, Black &
White, Blackpoll and Wilson's; a few Double-crested Cormorants were seen
flying along the cliff and Cedar Waxwings continue to be found hawking bugs
just about everywhere. Still others were Indigo Bunting, House Sparrow,
Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eurpoean Starling and America Goldfinch.
Ring-billed and Herring Gulls cruised the cliff as usual.
160 Monarch Butterflies were counted as they crossed the field, continuing
their flight even this afternoon, despite gloomy conditions. The only
dragonfly species reported today was Black Saddlebags; however, there was
some excitement as a Walking Stick was seen at the observation knoll.
Predictions:
Well...winds are forecast to be moderate from the NW for the morning the
decreasing through midday and eventually backing to the west. If we get
some cloud at all we might catch a decent flight of Broadwings. A quick
check of the Thermal Updraft Velocities for tomorrow shows a high value of
at least 400-500 fpm (feet per minute) in the entire region which may help
get the birds moving.
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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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