Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch - Beamer Conservation Area Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
OVER 50 YEARS Of ANNUAL SPRING COUNTS Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 12, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 13 230 230 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 19 19 Northern Harrier 0 2 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 11 11 Cooper's Hawk 6 14 15 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 17 20 20 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 39 95 95 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 0 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Accipitrine 1 2 2 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 76 396 397 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Lyn Hanna-Folkes Observers: Katherine Stoltz Visitors: Stephen Vine, Burlington - birdwatcher; Brad Lewis, Grimsby; "Gramma Carol" with children, Sophie and Rowan, Smithville; and Ryan Beal with his sons, Ethan and Aiden, Grimsby. These young boys had a great time tossing toy airplanes off the tower near the end of the count when there were no raptors - I enjoyed the company! If Stephen Vine visits tomorrow, please help him find his first Red-shouldered Hawk of the season, thanks. A few other walkers visited the park. Weather: Pleasant morning with bright sun and a bit of blue sky; stronger blustery cold wind in afternoon. Cloud cover remained 100% after 10:00 and the temperature 'feel' grew colder throughout the day. At 8:00 it was -3C and cloudy with some sun and a NE light cool breeze. At 13:00, although the temperature warmed slightly to 1C, the cold gusty NE wind strengthened to over 25 km/hr with much stronger gusts; the sky also turned darker with thicker grey clouds. The sun was completely behind clouds during the last half of the afternoon. Raptor Observations: A decent flight for March with 76 birds in total. Most of the action was in the late morning, fairly low over the tower providing nice views. Just over half of the total number of raptors counted today were Red-tailed Hawks (39 - one immature; the rest light morph adults). Only 13 Vultures ventured out, and 6 Cooper's and 17 Red-shouldered Hawks round out our only four species seen. Local raptors included: 4 Turkey Vultures, a pair of Cooper's Hawks hunting just south of the tower circle, and 2 Red-tailed Hawks escorted a few migrators out of the area. During hour 11-12, a Red-tailed Hawk stooped very fast past the tower coming within about 15 feet of us at eye level - it missed a Blue Jay in the shrubs across the roadway. Kat and I enjoyed that close encounter! Non-raptor Observations: Over a dozen American Robins were scattered on the lawn at arrival. Species of note: Common Raven, Pileated Woodpecker, 4 Tundra Swans and a single male Common Merganser. A flock of 11 American Crows were active and a flock of at least 100 European Starlings formed a brief dark cloud near the farm house. We also saw an unusually high number of aircraft in the area today. Predictions: Sunnier and warmer tomorrow with much gentler NE wind - should be better than today (with some eagles hopefully). Very few raptors are coming through Derby Hill and only 37 raptors were reported from Braddock Bay today -- but a "moderate to good" flight is predicted there tomorrow. Continuing northeast winds may hold back a larger migration again but I'm thinking it could be a pretty good day for Beamer with birds providing some nice views closer to the tower, like they did for us today. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Lyn Hanna-Folkes (lhfolkes8...@gmail.com) Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch - Beamer Conservation Area information may be found at: http://www.niagarapeninsulahawkwatch.org/ More site information at hawkcount.org: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=389 Site Description: Hawk migration monitoring at the Beamer Memorial Conservation Area in Grimsby, Ontario is conducted by the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch (NPH). All counting is done by volunteers. Not all members are counters nor does a counter have to be a member. Typically one person is the designated counter for each day but other observers present assist with the spotting and identification. Counting is done from a steel observation tower with a wooden floor. For wind protection on cold days, particularly in March, a black plastic wind guard is installed around the tower's platform. This platform easily accommodates ten people but on most busy days, no more than five or six observers would be on it. The site lies within a publicly accessible property owned by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. There is no charge for admittance. Only the counter and designated spotters can drive into and park in the conservation area; there is a parking lot outside for visitors. The tower stands in the centre of a mowed area with a gravel ring road near the outer edge. This provides lots of room to set up lawn chairs, telescopes and cameras. Toilet facilities are present. During the counting season, the NPH erect a counting board to display seven day's worth of observation data for the public. The box enclosing the sign contains brochures and silhouette sheets for the public as well as bulletin boards with news and historical sighting records. Directions to site: To get to Beamer CA, take the QEW to Exit 71/72, follow Christie St./Mountain St. to the top of the escarpment, turn right on Ridge Road West, and go 1.6km to Quarry Rd. Turn right on Quarry Rd. and drive 100m to the conservation area. If parking at the entrance or on the roads, do NOT leave valuables in your car. Please note: 1) Data in this report is not official until reviewed and finalized after the end of the season. ©2020 Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch. 2) Vehicular traffic into the park is allowed, but visitors are asked to have their cars outside the gate by 3PM. If parking at the gate DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN YOUR VEHICLE!!! -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. 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