Holiday Beach Hawk Watch
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Turkey Vulture 5147 12967 15967
Osprey 0 2 43
Bald Eagle 15 35 159
Northern Harrier 81 189 561
Sharp-shinned Hawk 125 1000 6203
Cooper's Hawk 14 61 152
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 14 14 14
Broad-winged Hawk 31 58 56643
Red-tailed Hawk 42 87 262
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 231 1172 2367
Merlin 3 17 112
Peregrine Falcon 10 31 69
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: 5713 15633 82552
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Hugh Kent
Observers: John Winebrenner, Karen Padbury, Lisa Silvey, Liz Kent,
Paul Gosselin
Visitors:
A huge thanks to John, Karen, Lisa and Paul for helping observe and count
on what was quite a busy day! Paul did sterling work with the Turkey
Vulture clicker.
Weather:
Today was overcast for most of the day, slightly clearing in the last hour.
The wind was generally from the north moderate to strong at times. The
temperature was mostly around the mid teens reducing slightly towards the
end of the day. The visibility was generally good.
Raptor Observations:
Excellent day today. We had an armada of Turkey Vultures (5,147) forming
kettles just to the east and streaming over us. There were good numbers of
hawks accompanying them, with American Kestrels (231) the most numerous,
followed by Sharp-shinned Hawks (125). The number of Northern Harriers (81)
we saw today is pretty remarkable given the last time 80 were seen in one
day was September 18th 1999! Buteos showed in better numbers, we had our
first Red-shouldered Hawks (14) of the season, with Red-tailed Hawks (42)
and Broad-winged Hawks (31) also in the mix. Also 10 Peregrines in one day
isn't too bad.
Non-raptor Observations:
Compared to the Raptors, today was a pretty regular day for other birds.
Blue Jays (16,280) again passed by in good numbers, noticeable that more
came in the afternoon than the morning. Red-winged Blackbirds (1,173) are
also increasing with good numbers of Cedar Waxwing (195) and American
Goldfinch (228). It was good to see a flock of Pine Siskins (37) settling
on the trees east of the Tower. Ring-necked Ducks (107) are increasing on
the marsh. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S152046851
Predictions:
Tomorrow is a similar forecast to today, except that the wind will shift to
east with a slight northerly component. I guess it may be too much to hope
for a similar flight as today, but we may get reasonable 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
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