Holiday Beach Hawk Watch
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 23, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 2638 54261 57261
Osprey 0 5 46
Bald Eagle 6 90 214
Northern Harrier 5 303 675
Sharp-shinned Hawk 74 2959 8162
Cooper's Hawk 6 150 241
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 6 146 146
Broad-winged Hawk 0 138 56723
Red-tailed Hawk 20 432 607
Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 2
Golden Eagle 1 3 3
American Kestrel 5 1389 2584
Merlin 1 27 122
Peregrine Falcon 1 42 80
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: 2763 59947 126866
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Hugh Kent
Observers: Juliette Herdman, Karen Padbury, Liz Kent, Noel Herdman,
Peter Veighey
Visitors:
Big thank you to Karen, Noel and Juliette, and Peter who stayed all day
observing and counting. Good to see Tim from the Hawk Banders and Alain
again on the Tower.
Weather:
The day started cold and clear, the cloud cover gradually increased
throughout the day. The temperature started at about 5c and increased to
14c by the end of the afternoon. The wind was from the south, light at
first increasing to moderate. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
Turkey Vultures (2638) started in a rush mid morning and continued until
mid afternoon, all were passing to the north. Sharp-shinned Hawk (74)
numbers were reduced as were American Kestrels (5). Buteos came through
with the Turkey Vultures in smaller numbers than yesterday; 20 Red-tailed
Hawks and 6 Red-shouldered Hawks. It was good to spot a sub adult Golden
Eagle way off to the north mid afternoon.
Non-raptor Observations:
Lots of ducks of eleven species, numbers are still increasing, albeit
slowly. It was good to see three Common Loons flying west over the marsh
and four remaining Tundra Swans. Blue Jay (520) and American Crow (160)
numbers were lower today. Lots of Blackbirds continue to fly north with
Red-winged Blackbirds (4,474) leading the pack. The late staying Warblers
remain with Northern Parula, Tennessee, Palm and Blackpoll all seen in the
bushes around the Tower accompanied by Yellow-rumped Warblers (7). American
Pipit (12), Horned Lark (26) and Pine Siskin (7) all flew by today.
Amazingly we also saw a single Monarch Butterfly fly past the Tower, gamely
heading west. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S152938607
Predictions:
The forecast is similar to day with a moderate south wind, but clearer
skies as the day goes on. The temperature will be higher than today at mid
to high teens. Probably we will have a similar mix to today, but it will be
interesting to see whether numbers will be higher or lower.
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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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