Holiday Beach Conservation Area
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 11, 2015
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 14 1100 50953
Osprey 0 1 83
Bald Eagle 0 6 177
Northern Harrier 4 76 742
Sharp-shinned Hawk 6 138 8232
Cooper's Hawk 0 10 193
Northern Goshawk 0 0 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 14 129 361
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 16636
Red-tailed Hawk 72 768 1561
Rough-legged Hawk 0 7 7
Golden Eagle 1 18 38
American Kestrel 0 4 1520
Merlin 0 2 60
Peregrine Falcon 1 3 47
Unknown Accipiter 0 1 17
Unknown Buteo 0 21 103
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 2
Unknown Raptor 0 0 23
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1
Total: 112 2284 80758
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Jenna McDermott
Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks, Jeremy Hatt, John Craft, Kory Renaud,
Michael Williamson
Weather:
Another unusually gorgeous day, with the sun to warm us and only a mild
breeze from the SW and SE. Visibility was only a few kilometres due to a
heavy haze layer that persisted all day.
Raptor Observations:
Until 10am there was minimal activity and then a few small kettles
containing Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, and a couple of Turkey
Vultures started showing up. Weaving in and out of the haze, they were
tricky to keep an eye on. These kettles lasted until 2pm, at which point
all activity suddenly died off. A real treat was a few birds that came
close to the tower, including a young Peregrine and a couple of Red-tails.
One sub-adult Golden Eagle glided over the marsh in the morning. Northern
Harriers and Sharp-shinned Hawks also made their way across the "migration
line". The Osprey made a few appearances through the day, at times kettling
to a high altitude and then streaming right back down to the marsh again.
Non-raptor Observations:
Our most numerous migrating passerines of the day were Red-winged
Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and American Goldfinches. There was also a
smattering of Blue Jays, crows, Horned Larks, Eastern Bluebirds, Cedar
Waxwings, Rusty Blackbirds, cowbirds, Purple and House Finches. A House
Wren was heard at the base of the tower. Over 1000 ducks are in the marsh,
of 12 species. Some of the ones closer to the tower include Ring-necked,
Bufflehead, plenty of Northern Pintail, Northern Shovelers and Gadwall.
Thanks to Jeremy for his meticulous counts! A Monarch was seen fluttering
over the tower; it's getting awfully late for them! See today's eBird list
http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25796780
Predictions:
Hang on to your hats, because it's going to be a windy one! 40-60kph SW
winds and a chance of rain in the afternoon will likely make for an
uneventful day in the way of raptor migration.
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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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