Holiday Beach Hawk Watch
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 29, 2022
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 591 44540 51724
Osprey 0 5 16
Bald Eagle 0 47 299
Northern Harrier 6 347 665
Sharp-shinned Hawk 14 3175 7021
Cooper's Hawk 8 191 283
Northern Goshawk 1 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 153 330 331
Broad-winged Hawk 0 43 65702
Red-tailed Hawk 440 2046 2222
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 3 13 13
American Kestrel 1 689 2081
Merlin 2 54 113
Peregrine Falcon 0 54 106
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 1 1
Total: 1219 51537 130579
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Hugh Kent
Observers: Andrew Wiebe, Juliette Herdman, Kara Wiebe, Liz Kent,
Noel Herdman
Visitors:
Big thanks to observers Andrew, Juliette, Kara and Noel for helping spot
and identify the many buteos today. It was great to see Dave and Kim, Judy,
Jade and Cole, David and Steven and Wanda again. Welcome to Annette and Don
and Sean and Melissa. Thanks to you all for your interest in the Hawk Watch
and the birds on the Marsh.
Weather:
We were met by an ethereal sight this morning - mist backlit by the rising
sun creating a 'mistbow'. It took a few hours for the mist to completely
clear but then we had clear skies for the remainder of the day. The wind
started light from the north, remaining light throughout the day but
switching to the south late morning. The temperature started at a low 3c
but rose to 15c by the end of the day. A pleasant day on the Tower.
Raptor Observations:
It was a slow start due to the mist but the Red-shouldered and Red-tailed
Hawks appeared flying from tree to tree waiting for the thermals to appear.
They did and we had good totals of Red-shoulders (153) and Red-tails (440).
They flew together and sometimes with Turkey Vultures (591) who appeared in
reduced numbers today. We had a typical fleeting glance of a low-level
Northern Goshawk in the early part of the day and 3 Golden Eagles to the
north with Turkey Vultures in the last two hours. Sharp-shinned Hawks (14)
were notable by their relative absence. The remainder of 10 species seen
were in low numbers.
Non-raptor Observations:
Ducks again are dominating the scene. Numbers are increasing as are species
with 11 seen today. The same mix of shorebirds (Pectoral Sandpiper, Greater
and Lesser Yellowlegs and Killdeer) are on the marsh, with an extra single,
Black-bellied Plover appearing on the lake shingle bank. Good numbers of
Tree Swallow (405) are still on the marsh. A variety of Sparrows are still
present but in low numbers. Eastern Bluebird, Horned Lark and American
Pipit are still overflying the tower. American Crows (1100) are making up
for reduced numbers of Blue Jays (150). No Yellow-rumped Warblers were seen
today, first time in a while. The most numerous blackbirds were Common
Grackles (730). It is a sign of the mild weather that we saw 7 Monarch
Butterflies pass the tower today. The list is at
https://ebird.org/checklist/S121533848
Predictions:
Tomorrow is forecast to be not as cold with light winds from the southeast.
Scattered clouds initially then possibly becoming overcast. Hopefully the
buteo migration will continue, but conditions are not as favourable as
today. Maybe we will see a resurgence in the Sharp-shinned Hawk numbers.
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Report submitted by Hugh Kent ([email protected])
Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://hbmo.ca/
More site information at hawkcount.org:
https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=100
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at:
https://dunkadoo.org/explore/hbmo/hbmo-hawk-watch-fall-2022
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