Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch - Beamer Conservation Area Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
OVER 50 YEARS Of ANNUAL SPRING COUNTS Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 17, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 149 458 458 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 3 23 23 Northern Harrier 0 5 5 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 22 22 Cooper's Hawk 3 20 21 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 13 47 47 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 40 180 180 Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 2 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 0 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 1 1 Unknown Accipitrine 0 2 2 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 1 1 1 Total: 210 763 764 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Lyn Hanna-Folkes Observers: Bouwe Bergsma, Phil Waggett Visitors: Thanks to Bouwe Bergsma and Phil Waggett for their company and help with the count today. Steve Murdoch, St. Catherines and Wendy Spark, New Market were hiking and visited the tower briefly. Other walkers trickled through the park on this cool day, including Scott Copeland who stopped to say hi and told us that he's a cousin of the late Dave Copeland, a well-known long-time Hawk-watcher from Hamilton's local birding community. Weather: A cool pleasant St. Patrick's Day! We had no precipitation/low humidity; good visibility all day; the temperature began at -2C (feel -7C) but ended at a warm feeling 3C in the sun; the cloudy morning sky turned 100% blue by 1:00 pm; although a cold wind was dominant from the north all day, it was also very light and quite calm at times. It didn't seem to hinder migration too much as we still had a good flight for mid-March. Raptor Observations: The first hour was slow with one adult Bald Eagle - our first bird of the day! After that there was a fairly steady migration trickle all day. The flight path was variable with almost all eagles & buteos over the escarpment edge to the north, and almost only Vultures over the Farmhouse to the south, as well as a mix of raptors over the tower. The lighting providing exquisite views for easy IDs. Our six species included mostly Turkey Vultures (149) plus 3 adult Bald Eagles (8:40; 11:45 & 12:12), 1 Peregrine Falcon in the second hour, 3 Cooper's, 13 Red-shouldered and 40 Red-tailed Hawks. We watched one poor Red-shouldered Hawk try to migrate over the tower while being attacked repeatedly by a very aggressive Common Raven! A first for me. There were 13 raptors reported in the last hour of the day and it felt like migration had ended by 4:00 pm. One raptor in the last hour flew only behind treetops and couldn't be ID'd. Local raptors included 5 Turkey Vultures, 2 Red-tailed Hawks and a very active pair of Cooper's Hawks doing frequent flight displays and chasing other raptors away. On my drive up Woolverton Rd. to Mud St., a 4th yr. Bald Eagle with a dirty tail flew right over my car very low - handsome! Non-raptor Observations: Less passerine activity. In the morning, not all of the usuals were around; American Robins were on the lawn; two male Common Goldeneyes flew low over the tower to the south. Black-capped Chickadees, a singing White-throated Sparrow, a few Common Grackles and 2 fun Common Ravens showed up by noon. In the afternoon, a vocal Northern Flicker and a White-breasted Nuthatch were new for the day and activity of the common birds present picked up only during the last hour of the count. The European Starling flock is still near the farmhouse. Predictions: The local weather looks like tomorrow could bring decent migration conditions with low humidity, temps up to 13C and SW winds, however, both Braddock Bay and Derby Hill reported very low numbers of raptors today. So we'll see... ======================================================================== 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. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: birdnews@ontbirds.ca. 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