Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 24, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 0 455 477 Osprey 0 20 20 Bald Eagle 0 112 115 Northern Harrier 0 249 268 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 3329 3331 Cooper's Hawk 0 63 64 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 2909 2921 Red-tailed Hawk 0 276 316 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 3 749 757 Merlin 0 44 44 Peregrine Falcon 0 23 23 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: 5 8230 8337 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent Observers: Juliette Herdman, Liz Kent, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman Visitors: Big thanks to Mike for helping out in the morning and Noel and Juliette in the afternoon. Weather: Rain came within an hour of starting the count and lasted into early afternoon. The wind was light and variable, starting from the north and then switching to the east mid morning. Visibility was restricted in the rain but gradually improved in the afternoon. The temperature started around 18c and rose to 24c once the rain ended. Raptor Observations: Very few raptors today as they generally decline to fly in the rain. When the rain ceased, three American Kestrels and two Sharp-shinned Hawks were spotted over the tree line to the north east. A committee of Turkey Vultures sat out the rain on the dead tree to the north of the Tower. When the rain stopped they flew around a bit but didn't have the urge to migrate. Non-raptor Observations: There was a lot of songbird activity in the vegetation around the Tower, feeding on insects kept low by the rain. Nine species of Warbler, three vireo, Kinglets, Flycatchers and a good amount of White-throated Sparrows (23). The bird of the day was an American Bittern that was seen perched low in a tree to the east of the Tower and then flew back west to the marsh between the cottonwood trees to the south and the Tower. A Marsh Wren was also heard calling. Blue Jays (2930) flew west once the rain stopped. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S196381792 Predictions: The forecast is for no rain tomorrow, but overcast with wind from the south west. Lets hope normal service will be resumed and we will see more raptors than today. Most probably the usual mix. The south west wind does not bode well for large numbers of Broad wings, but let's hope a few pass by. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Hugh Kent (Hughnkent@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