Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 23, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 12 69 69 Osprey 2 74 74 Bald Eagle 1 54 54 Northern Harrier 54 290 300 Sharp-shinned Hawk 164 3715 3725 Cooper's Hawk 3 38 39 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 38 70392 70423 Red-tailed Hawk 1 21 21 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 173 1468 1501 Merlin 1 34 35 Peregrine Falcon 9 39 39 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: 458 76196 76282 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Jim Dunn Observers: Bouwe Bergsma, Dave Verkley, Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan Visitors: Thanks to Mary, Jim, Keith, Bouwe and Dave V. for getting a count today. Weather: A most enjoyable day, low humidity, excellent visibility, a cool breeze all day from the W, SW and WSW, few bugs/bees and an interesting count. A bit of cloud to start the day and then it pretty much disappeared by the afternoon. Raptor Observations: Today's flight was a nice surprise with a much better than expected total of 458 raptors. The top species for the day were Sharpies (164) and Kestrels (173) which were fairly steady all day, as well as the Northern Harriers (54) which provided great looks. Other species included TVs (12), Osprey (2), a single Bald Eagle, a few Cooper's Hawks (3), a lone Redtail deemed to be a migrant, a single Merlin and a great topper to the day several Peregrines (9). Even the Broadwings (38) weren't too high and early in the morning several flushed from the roadside bushes just north of the viewing knoll. Even the Peregrines were kind enough to pass through a bit slower and close enough to provide excellent views. Non-raptor Observations: Today's non-raptor sightings occurred mainly near the knoll since observers were pretty focused on the steady stream of Shins, AKs and Harriers; nevertheless a few interesting species were found, including a Red-bellied Woodpecker that flew extremely low above 3 observers standing in the field just south of the knoll. What a view! 5 Wood Ducks and a Loon flew across the willows early this morning and a Nighthawk, spotted by visitor, Bouwe Bergsma entertained us for several minutes along the treeline to the north and then near the elm. Again today, Northern Flickers were seen flying all over the place and Blue Jays were on the move with 1500 counted by 9:00 AM. Around 3:30, just as everything else seemed to be slowing down, a mob of Blue Jays erupted from low in the gap and flew low, directly over the knoll, about 40 in all. Today's total for Blue Jays was 2500. Few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds flew across the field today and even fewer were seen in the jewelweed, which appears to have passed its peak. However, an Eastern Phoebe and a Brown Thrasher were spotted which we don't see every day and we did have a Red-eyed Vireo plus a few Warblers, including Cape May, Palm, Black-throated Green, Blackpoll and Black & White. Omitted from yesterday's bug list were Giant Swallowtail and Milbert's Tortoiseshell, spotted by Anne Vance and Bob Johnstone. Today's Monarch count was impressive as well; early this morning counter Bruce Parker found several roosts, one with more than 60 Monarchs. As well, he counted 233 Monarchs between 12:00 and 1:00 PM. Other butterfly sightings were 4 Painted Ladies, many Clouded Sulphurs, some Orange Sulphurs, 1 Black Swallowtail and numerous Cabbage Whites. The predominant dragonfly species noted today were Green Darners and Black Saddlebags. ======================================================================== 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 including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
