Holiday Beach Hawk Watch
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 140 55754 58754
Osprey 0 5 46
Bald Eagle 0 91 215
Northern Harrier 3 311 683
Sharp-shinned Hawk 68 3102 8305
Cooper's Hawk 2 161 252
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 152 152
Broad-winged Hawk 0 138 56723
Red-tailed Hawk 11 536 711
Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 2
Golden Eagle 2 8 8
American Kestrel 3 1393 2588
Merlin 0 27 122
Peregrine Falcon 0 43 81
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: 229 61723 128642
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Observation start time: 07:30:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Hugh Kent
Observers: Aldo Bertucci, Juliette Herdman, Liz Kent, Michael Arthurs,
Noel Herdman, Peter Veighey
Visitors:
Big thanks to Aldo, Michael, Noel and Juliette and Peter for observing and
recording today. It was good to see Colleen and Chris, Pearl and Rod and
Dennis who took a great interest in the birds of the marsh and the Hawk
Watch.
Weather:
There was a light wind from the south south east all day, with the
temperature gradually increasing from mid teens to high teens by the end of
the day. It remained overcast but with small breaks in the cloud now and
again. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
Two Golden Eagles today, both way off to the north. Turkey Vultures (140)
drifted back and forth mostly in the middle of the day until they caught
the wind and headed west. Sharp-shinned Hawks (68) came through
intermittently throughout the day. Red-tailed Hawks (11) travelled on their
own, gliding past swiftly to the north. Low numbers of American Kestrel
(3), Northern Harrier (3) and Cooper's Hawk (2) completed the tally.
Non-raptor Observations:
Ducks are maintaining their numbers with eleven species seen with seven
Canvasback settled on the marsh. A small flock of Semi-palmated Sandpiper
(30) was seen heading across the marsh and out over the lake. Starlings
(7,540) were the dominant bird in the afternoon with large flocks flying to
the north and hawking over the marsh, matched only by a very large number
of Tree Swallows (3000) hawking high and low over the marsh in the morning.
More Cedar Waxwing (575) were present today and it was nice to see and hear
a flock of Eastern Bluebirds (21) heading west over the tower - first of
the season. We also saw three late Monarch Butterflies. The list is at
https://ebird.org/checklist/S153126256
Predictions:
Tomorrow's forecast is for a moderate wind from the south west, overcast
with sunny periods. Temperature will reach the low 20s by midday. The wind
may provide more lift so hopefully we may see slightly more than today.
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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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