Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 07, 2015
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 63 247 24611
Osprey 0 1 124
Bald Eagle 5 7 157
Northern Harrier 2 19 986
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 24 8368
Cooper's Hawk 1 8 217
Northern Goshawk 0 0 7
Red-shouldered Hawk 7 19 320
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 13000
Red-tailed Hawk 98 355 2155
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 2
Golden Eagle 5 11 69
American Kestrel 0 0 1934
Merlin 0 3 92
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 76
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
Total: 185 694 52118
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Jennifer Lyon
Observers: Derek Lyon, Don Taylor, Ernie Gribble, Jim Dunn,
Keith Sealy, Mac McAlpine, Mark Cunningham, Mary Carnahan,
Phil Waggett, Ronnie Goodhand, Winston Celik
Visitors:
Ivy and Joe from London, Phil W. and Winston C. from the Toronto area, and
several people whose names we didn`t get, who stopped by throughout the day
to ask us about the hawk watch, what we were seeing, etc.
Weather:
Observers and visitors enjoyed beautiful fall weather with temperatures
ranging from 8 C. to 11 C. and mainly westerly winds, but WSW in the
morning, shifting to WNW early in the afternoon, so that, it felt much
cooler as the afternoon continued. Also, the amount of sunshine varied
from hour to hour (sometimes minute to minute) as the cloud cover moved
across the sky. The lack of humidity compared to the past week made viewing
so much easier not having to peer through haze really makes a difference.
By the end of the watch, lots of dark cloud was moving in from the NW.
Raptor Observations:
We had a couple of low, Golden Eagles at the B&B early in the watch,
probably a couple of birds that had spent the night in a local tree lot,
and after that everything was quite high until the final hour of the day.
With a total of 185 birds, including 63 TVs, it wasnt the huge flight some
were hoping for, but that northerly component to the mainly westerly winds
did not develop until the afternoon hours, so there was nothing to drive
birds south towards our hawk watch site. Still, we managed to find 7
raptor species, including the stars of the day, Red-tailed Hawks with 98
individuals counted, in addition to 5 Bald Eagles, 2 Northern Harriers, 4
Sharp-shins (all 4 coming in the same hour between 11 and 12), a single
Coopers Hawk, which put on quite a show right in front of observers at the
B&B just after 3 PM, 7 Red-shouldered Hawks and 5 Golden Eagles. Not huge
numbers, but not a bad count at all.
Non-raptor Observations:
The dickie birds have really thinned out with sightings today of only 22
species, some of which were species we ``count`` when we`re stretching for
something to report (e.g., House Sparrows, Pigeons) but at the same time,
observers reported some really neat finds, including 5 Eastern Bluebirds at
the Cliff in addition to a flock of 12 that perched in a tree on the west
side of the road at the B&B and which serenaded us periodically throughout
the watch. As well, Swallows were spotted early at the Cliff, but not in
sufficient detail to determine whether they were Cave Swallows or very late
Cliff Swallows, plus a flock of Bonaparte`s Gulls flew west along the
northern treeline at the B&B and a flock of Wild Turkeys crossed Hawk Cliff
Rd, just south of the ravine, causing one driver to hit the brakes.
Besides that, a Great Blue Heron flew along the treeline, opposite our
position at the B&B in the waning light of the afternoon, flocks of Horned
Larks and Am. Pipits were reported and observers noted 2 late Cormorants
flying over in addition to at least a dozen Common Loons, flying
individually throughout the day.
To top that, a couple of observers saw Clouded Sulphurs along the roadside
at the B&B.
Predictions:
Mainly Westerly wind on Sunday, shifting to the SW later in the afternoon,
where it will stay for at least the first 2 days of the week not what we
need for a substantial count at Hawk Cliff. Temperatures will be
pleasantly normal for the waning days of the fall season in southwestern
Ontario, with a nice mix of sun and cloud.
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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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