Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 14, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 27 288 288 Osprey 1 12 12 Bald Eagle 7 112 112 Northern Harrier 6 167 167 Sharp-shinned Hawk 126 740 740 Cooper's Hawk 6 40 40 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 929 1650 1650 Red-tailed Hawk 5 121 121 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 14 351 352 Merlin 2 29 31 Peregrine Falcon 1 8 8 Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 1 1 1 Unknown Raptor 2 6 6 Total: 1127 3525 3528 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Michael Burton-Smith Observers: Cindy Isenhoff, Hugh Kent, Karen Padbury, Linda Wladarski, Liz Kent, Patrick Tomlinson, Peter Veighey, Wade Carlton Visitors: The north winds bring not only birds but also birders, and it was great to be helped by Cindy, Karen, Hugh, Liz, Patrick, Linda and Peter. We were very lucky through the peak movement that Wade volunteered to be scribe on just his second hawk watch, coping with numbers being yelled at him from all sides of the tower. We also had lots of lovely visitors from across Canada and the United States, including Sue & Arnie, Laura & John, and our excellent banding team who brought with them lots of enthusiasm and expertise. Thanks to everyone else that came along whose names I have missed! Weather: Clear skies all day with temperatures in the mid-teens early, rising to the high twenties. Northerly winds, strongest in the morning easing to mild as the day warmed up. Raptor Observations: A sizeable movement of raptors this morning, peaking between 0900 and 1000 EST when 751 Broad-tailed Hawks passed through - more than the entire season to date combined! Sharp-shinned Hawks continued to pass through in moderate numbers, with many choosing to roost overnight in the reserve and departing around 0800 EST. A quiet afternoon as winds eased and shifted slightly to the north-west. Non-raptor Observations: The day's eBird checklist can be viewed at https://ebird.org/checklist/S392972914. They say in life you cannot have it all, and so it was that on our busiest raptor day of the season so far our other observations produced little to write home about. The dabbling duck diversity continues with growing numbers of American Wigeon, along with a moderate movement of American Goldfinch (154), Common Green Darner (157), and Monarchs (61). Predictions: Tomorrow will probably be a relatively quiet day on the raptor front with strong southerly winds, although we will still expect a few Sharp-shinned Hawks and perhaps some other raptors riding the thermals to the north. With the southerly growing overnight, we may also luck out and arrive tomorrow to a fall of warblers. ======================================================================== 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