Holiday Beach Hawk Watch
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 26, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Turkey Vulture 99 1557 1557
Osprey 0 36 36
Bald Eagle 4 115 115
Northern Harrier 11 334 334
Sharp-shinned Hawk 105 4947 4947
Cooper's Hawk 4 80 80
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 36 56405 56405
Red-tailed Hawk 2 152 152
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 13 979 979
Merlin 3 92 92
Peregrine Falcon 4 30 30
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 281 64727 64727
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Hugh Kent
Observers: Chip Ogglesby, Juliette Herdman, Kit McCann, Liz Kent,
Noel Herdman
Visitors:
Many thanks to Chip, Juliette and Noel, Kit and Matt for helping observe
and record today. The raptors were generally quite high and challenging to
spot. We had a few visitors to day who took an interest in the Hawk Watch
and birds on the marsh.
Weather:
The day started overcast, but after rain early morning cloud cover slightly
decreased throughout the day. The wind remained moderate from the south
east and the temperature hovered around 20c all day. Visibility was
generally good apart from during the rain.
Raptor Observations:
Sharp-shinned Hawks (105) again just pipped Turkey Vultures (99) to the top
spot. It is interesting to note that we have seen almost double the number
of Sharp-shins compared to this time last year. Broad-winged Hawk (36)
stragglers again appeared mostly quite high up. American Kestrel (13)
numbers were again low with Northern Harriers (11) closely behind. Again 10
species were seen, including 4 Peregrines, possibly the highest day total
so far.
Non-raptor Observations:
Another good Warbler day but with slightly reduced numbers and species
(10). Orange-crowned Warbler, Bonaparte's Gull and House Sparrow were new
species for the season. Many Tree Swallows (340) were hawking for insects
above the marsh. Three species of Shorebird were seen flying over the marsh
including two Wilson's Snipe. Blue Jays (4,231) have returned in modest
numbers today after a virtual absence yesterday. The list is at
https://ebird.org/checklist/S150828655
Predictions:
A moderate wind from the east is forecast tomorrow, with a slight hance of
rain first thing. Temperatures will be slightly lower and it will be mostly
overcast, possibly cloud cover slightly reducing through the day. Most
likely we will see more Turkey Vultures and Sharp-shins, probably in
similar numbers as today. Hopefully other species will also tag along.
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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
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