Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 16, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 19 178 200 Osprey 0 10 10 Bald Eagle 1 60 63 Northern Harrier 8 156 175 Sharp-shinned Hawk 105 1245 1247 Cooper's Hawk 2 47 48 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 30 624 636 Red-tailed Hawk 2 241 281 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 13 374 382 Merlin 1 37 37 Peregrine Falcon 0 15 15 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 Mississippi Kite 0 1 1 Total: 181 2988 3095 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Chad Cornish, Kiah Jasper Observers: Chad Cornish, Hugh Kent, Liz Kent, Mike Jaber, Patrick Tomlinson, Steve Wagner Visitors: Quiet for visitors on the tower today (especially after hawkfest!), but a few keen birders kept me company for the entire day. Big thanks to Chad, Mike, Steven, Patrick, Liz and Hugh for helping me spot birds today. John from Oxford County also visited for most day, helping spot birds and taking photos. Weather: Another hot and sunny day, with temperatures reaching 27C. Another day of clear blue skies and a light haze in the air at higher elevations. Another day of light Southeast winds throughout the day. This has become the norm for the past week, as a blocking system of high pressure sits over the region. Raptor Observations: We observed less birds today than the previous days, and we had to work a LOT harder for them. The flight today was at the limit of our vision, mainly comprised of Sharp-shinned Hawks that passed by singley or in small groups of 2-5. Eye strain was intense in the afternoon, as birds gained even more elevation and could only be seen as little black specks in our binoculars. Several Red-tailed Hawks, Northern Harriers and American Kestrels were seen today, and a lone Merlin zipped by right before we left. 3 small groups of Broad-winged Hawks migrated over, but the masses seemed to be elsewhere today. Non-raptor Observations: There was a brief flurry of songbird activity around the tower in the morning, including 12 species of warblers, White-throated Sparrows and a lingering Willow Flycatcher. The first Eastern Bluebird of the season flew overhead, and a steady stream of Blue Jays migrated west over us in the morning (1440 total). Other highlights included Black-crowned Night Herons and 6 Sandhill Cranes out in the marsh. A total of 74 species were recorded from the Hawk Tower today, to see the full list click this eBird link - https://ebird.org/checklist/S195404859 Predictions: Tomorrow is meant to be very similar to today, but with winds more out of the East. Hopefully the shift away from South winds means a few more birds will be in view, though I don’t expect a very large flight. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (kiahbirder@gmail.com) 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