Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 16, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 734 34408 37881 Osprey 0 4 30 Bald Eagle 1 57 264 Northern Harrier 11 343 924 Sharp-shinned Hawk 51 1832 7266 Cooper's Hawk 3 126 238 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 27 28 Broad-winged Hawk 0 51 107105 Red-tailed Hawk 1 204 606 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 3 764 2133 Merlin 5 36 139 Peregrine Falcon 2 43 77 Unknown Accipitrine 0 2 3 Unknown Buteo 0 3 5 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 3 Unknown Raptor 0 3 25 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 811 37904 156728 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Michael Burton-Smith Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks, Hugh Kent, Kiah Jasper, Liz Kent, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Paul Gosselin, Robin Smallwood Visitors: Thanks to Kiah, Noel, Mike, Hugh, Liz, Bob, Robin and Paul for helping conduct today's count and for keeping spirits high in spite of the dreary conditions! It was also lovely to be visited by Fred, John and Nate. Weather: Very overcast throughout the day with modest westerlies and temperatures hovering in the mid-teens. Dark clouds loomed over the west for most of the afternoon until the heavens finally opened around 1400 EST, cutting the count short. Raptor Observations: Other than a busy first two hours as the Turkey Vultures woke up and set out across the Detroit River, the day went fairly well to script for the raptors. Northern Harriers and Sharp-shinned Hawks passed through at a fairly steady pace through the morning, with the occasional Turkey Vulture flying over the northern edge of the marsh. A close flyby of an immature Peregrine was the day's raptor highlight. Non-raptor Observations: The day's checklist can be viewed at https://ebird.org/checklist/S402855258. What a day for mid-October! With 71 species recorded, we were kept busy even when the raptors were slow. Two runaway highlights were a flyover Western Cattle-Egret close to the tower, and an adorable Northern Saw-whet Owl whose cryptic roost was given away by the alarm calls of Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Also of note was a very large passage of American Robin (1593), the highest single day count in HBMO history, and a reasonable movement of Lesser Yellowlegs (50). On the other hand, some things were notable in their absence. Duck numbers are well down on the past few days, especially Ring-necked Duck and Gadwall. The hedges around the tower are no longer soundtracked by meowing Catbird, mixed warbler flocks no longer pick at dogwood berries, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds no longer battle on the feeder. As George R. R. Martin infamously declared, winter is coming! Predictions: Clearing skies into the night coupled with northerly winds make for great nocturnal migration conditions, so keep an eye open for new sparrows in the park and new waterfowl on the marsh tomorrow. During the day, moderate northerly winds and clear skies overheard create plenty of potential for armadas of Turkey Vulture and other soaring raptors, so keep looking up! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Michael Burton-Smith () 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