Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 13, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 2042 15459 16914 Osprey 1 9 76 Bald Eagle 1 28 132 Northern Harrier 3 148 470 Sharp-shinned Hawk 42 1385 6229 Cooper's Hawk 8 61 115 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 61 64 Broad-winged Hawk 0 152 16636 Red-tailed Hawk 0 107 210 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 1 1 American Kestrel 16 216 1310 Merlin 3 9 46 Peregrine Falcon 0 13 31 Unknown Accipiter 0 2 9 Unknown Buteo 0 6 32 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Raptor 0 5 17 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 2116 17663 42296 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Jenna McDermott Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks, Michael Williamson, Tiffanie Rajki Visitors: A great group of grade 6's and 7's from St. Peter's visited the park and got to see plenty of Turkey Vultures and a smattering of other raptors. Tara and Shannon got a good look at one of the resident Bald Eagles. Weather: Full cloud today other than a short interlude of sun to warm us mid-day. The wind was moderate (gusts up to 16kph) from the west and temperatures ranged from 13-15C. Raptor Observations: Most of today's flight was composed of Turkey Vultures. They started out flying pretty purposefully (for a Turkey Vulture) right overhead, switched to very far north (only seen through scopes), and then started a slow, uncertain parade overhead again, with groups weaving drunkenly across the sky, not knowing whether they were leaving or staying. A very young Osprey was migrating and perched in a tree close by. It still had a huge amount of light tipping on all its brown body feathers and had the very yellow feathering on the back of its head. Sharpies, Kestrels and Cooper's Hawks made their way over the marsh, along with one juvenile Bald Eagle and 3 Northern Harriers. One of the three Merlins today was very interested in the owl decoy and circled the tower a good 5 times, allowing for amazing looks! Non-raptor Observations: Goldfinches were flying all day in little flocks, dipping through the sky, and Blue Jays went up to 9680, mostly arriving in the afternoon. 21 Chimney Swifts were a surprising addition to the migrants, along with 25+ Tree Swallows and one Barn Swallow. A small amount of Yellow-rumped Warblers, sparrows and kinglets were present around the tower. See today's eBird list http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25407268 Predictions: Tomorrow's moderate NW winds should bring a few more birds, hopefully with the much-missed buteos (Red-shoulders, Red-tails) ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jenna McDermott ([email protected]) Holiday Beach Conservation Area information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/ _______________________________________________ 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
