Holiday Beach Hawk Watch
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 22, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 6280 51623 54623
Osprey 0 5 46
Bald Eagle 23 84 208
Northern Harrier 9 298 670
Sharp-shinned Hawk 175 2885 8088
Cooper's Hawk 14 144 235
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 41 140 140
Broad-winged Hawk 1 138 56723
Red-tailed Hawk 146 412 587
Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 2
Golden Eagle 0 2 2
American Kestrel 24 1384 2579
Merlin 1 26 121
Peregrine Falcon 0 41 79
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: 6714 57184 124103
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Observation start time: 07:30:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Hugh Kent
Observers: Andrew Wiebe, Chuck Sharbaugh, Kory Renaud, Larry Ludwicki,
Liz Kent, Noel Herdman, Paul Gosselin, Paul Pratt,
Ralph Billingsley
Visitors:
A big thanks to Andrew, Chuck, Kory, Larry, Noel, Paul G, Paul P and Ralph
for observing and recording. It was good to see Sam, Becky, Nelsy, Connor,
Linda, Summer and Michelle visiting us after passerine banding. It was also
good to see Paula with her trusty camera and Kara and George. It was good
to meet Susan and Brian who took a great interest in the hawk watch.
Weather:
A bright sunny day with a slight cloudy interlude at midday. The wind was
moderate from the North West. Temperature started at 6c and ended at 12c.
Visibility was good all day.
Raptor Observations:
Big Turkey Vulture (6280) movement all day, switching between over the
tower and to the north, depending on the subtleties of the wind.
Sharp-shinned Hawks (175) are maintaining their numbers with American
Kestrels (24) lower as the past few days. More buteos are accompanying the
Vultures with Red-tailed Hawks (146) the most numerous and Red-shouldered
Hawks (41) following. A single Broad-winged Hawk today. Bald Eagles (23)
seemed to be migrating in larger numbers, passing by high up.
Non-raptor Observations:
It was nice to see a variety of other waterbirds today, including Tundra
Swans (7), American White Pelican (44) flying majestically over the marsh
and Sandhill Cranes (2). Eleven duck species were seen including a fly over
of Redhead (67), new for the season. Bird of the day was a Northern Shrike
which perched in a dead tree to the east of the tower giving all a great
photographic opportunity. Big numbers of Blackbirds continue to move west,
and American Crows (5,860) had their first big day, not to be outdone Blue
Jays (2,940) continue to appear in good numbers. The list is at
https://ebird.org/checklist/S152871576
Predictions:
The forecast indicates a light wind from the south west tomorrow, partly
cloudy. Temperatures start low and reach around 10c. Maybe we won't have
the numbers of today, but lets hope the buteos continue to fly.
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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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