Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 120 Osprey 0 1 84 Bald Eagle 0 0 58 Northern Harrier 0 1 394 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 40 4616 Cooper's Hawk 0 1 71 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 1 70565 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 26 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 5 17 1762 Merlin 0 0 42 Peregrine Falcon 25 29 74 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 0 1 Total: 31 90 77814 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Chris Burris, Jim Dunn Observers: Chris Burris, Dave Verkley, Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan Visitors: Thanks so much to the crew that hung out at the knoll and the cliff today to get a count of the Peregrines on the move...Jim, Mary, Chris B., Keith, Su R., Dave V. and Cary. Weather: WOW! A day not fit for People; Beasts; Birds; Bugs; Bino's or Cameras....BUT just what the Peregrines seem to live for. Very strong SSE to S winds, 30 to 40 KPH with gusts to 55 KPH. Loads of sand blowing up off the cliff and across the field in front of the observation knoll. At times the sand would shoot up 15 to 20 m above the edge of the cliff before being blown across the field. Since we're still on the warm side of the front the temp got to a high of 18C. Some rain at midday lessened visibility but then it let up for the last couple of hours. Raptor Observations: No surprise that basically the only species flying today were Peregrines (25) spread across the count period. Early on, they were taking a wide variety of routes, from nearly over the mound to high over the water. They seemed to converge on a slightly inland path between Big Frank and The Bite thereafter. The only other species espied for the day included Kestrels (5) and a single Sharpie. Non-raptor Observations: It was tough birding this morning at Hawk Cliff with very little to report despite our efforts. 3 Eastern Bluebirds were seen on the wires at Roberts Line around 7:30 this morning while along the cliff many Ring-billed Gulls and 3 Greater Black-backed Gulls cruised along the cliff. Other highlights noted from the observation knoll were 1 Rock Pigeon and 1 Northern Flicker, while across the road 2 Carolina Wrens were chattering. At first their chattering was unidentifiable over the howling of the wind. From close-up, the sound was clearly that of Carolina Wrens, although the 2 observers who went to investigate never did get a clear view of either one. Other than that, fewer than 20 Blue Jays were counted, and those we did see were scattered and low down. A few Monarch Butterflies struggled across the field and 3 Black Saddlebags were seen blowing in the wind. Predictions: If you like to watch Peregrines on the fly then you'll want to get down to Hawk Cliff over the next few days...winds are forecast to continue moderate to strong from the SW and we are right on the prime migration dates for Peregrines. ======================================================================== 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
