Holiday Beach Conservation Area
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 31, 2015
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 132 48398 49853
Osprey 0 15 82
Bald Eagle 0 67 171
Northern Harrier 5 344 666
Sharp-shinned Hawk 13 3250 8094
Cooper's Hawk 0 129 183
Northern Goshawk 0 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 229 232
Broad-winged Hawk 0 152 16636
Red-tailed Hawk 4 690 793
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 20 20
American Kestrel 0 422 1516
Merlin 0 21 58
Peregrine Falcon 0 26 44
Unknown Accipiter 0 9 16
Unknown Buteo 0 56 82
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 2
Unknown Raptor 0 11 23
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1
Total: 155 53841 78474
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Jenna McDermott
Observers: Bob Pettit, Chris Craft, Jeanice Seals, Jim McCoy,
John Craft, Larry Ludwicki, Phyllis Coble, Theresa Lindsey
Visitors:
Plenty of our members stopped by today. It's nice to have people like Frank
Dolby return after an absence. Many thanks to the ladies from Tennessee for
spending their 25th season with us. Even when there's not many raptors, the
company is certainly stellar.
Weather:
Winds continued to be south component all day, but they didn't get higher
than 8kph. The temperature hovered around 10C and there was full cloud
cover. A bit of haze obscured the sky into the north.
Raptor Observations:
The second hour of the count started the day off with three gorgeous male
Northern Harriers, two of which floated close to the tower. After that, the
biggest numbers came from a kettle of over 100 Turkey Vultures that began
just to the east of us, but turned north and ended up passing at the other
side of the marsh. All the other birds were pretty scarce and far away,
including Sharpies, and a few Red-tails. One Golden Eagle was seen
migrating, so far away that it was impossible to tell the age, and
difficult to point out to others because of the monotonous cloud layer.
Non-raptor Observations:
There was a marked absence of Blue Jays, but American Crows still made it
past 700. Tree Swallows continue to appear over the marsh, as well as
goldfinches, grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Cedar Waxwings, and
starlings. Dozens of Rusty Blackbirds were seen and heard again from the
trees just to the south of the tower, and more were in mixed blackbird
flocks. A few small groups of American Pipits made their presence known
above us, as well as 8 Common Redpolls! See today's eBird list
http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25649116
Predictions:
Tomorrow will preclude the short return to warmer temperatures, with the
afternoon getting up to 15C. Winds will begin in the SW and finish from the
west. There may not be too much excitement in the air, but it should be a
beautiful day to get out and enjoy nature!
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Report submitted by Jenna McDermott ([email protected])
Holiday Beach Conservation Area information may be found at:
http://hbmo.ca/
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