Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 702 21641 25114 Osprey 0 3 29 Bald Eagle 1 32 239 Northern Harrier 11 194 775 Sharp-shinned Hawk 124 949 6383 Cooper's Hawk 3 44 156 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 1 Broad-winged Hawk 0 30 107084 Red-tailed Hawk 1 105 507 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 3 218 1587 Merlin 3 24 127 Peregrine Falcon 1 30 64 Unknown Accipitrine 0 1 2 Unknown Buteo 0 2 4 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 3 Unknown Raptor 0 3 25 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 849 23277 142101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Michael Burton-Smith, Mike Jaber Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks, David Wharton, Hugh Kent, Liz Kent, Robin Smallwood, Stephen Courtney Visitors: Thanks to Mike and Hugh for stepping in as official counters this morning, and to Liz, David, Steve, Bob and Robin for helping conduct the day's count. It was a busy thanksgiving at Holiday Beach, and it was lovely to be visited by Toni, Lou, Pille, Julian, Savannah, John, Heather, David, Lori, Cecile, Donald and Ute! Weather: Very misty in the early morning with limited visibility, mostly clearing by the afternoon. It was surprisingly muggy later in the day, with temperatures in the low twenties, high humidity and very little breeze. Raptor Observations: No winds and muggy skies make for poor migrating conditions, but we did still have some very positive raptor moments. This included a few moderate kettles of Turkey Vulture, a really good showing for October Sharp-shinned Hawks, and a particularly spectacular male Merlin posing for us in the afternoon. Non-raptor Observations: The day's eBird checklist can be viewed at https://ebird.org/checklist/S401823241. Like a Tuesday at a washed-up Las Vegas casino, today's non-raptor list didn't really have a headline act. Blue Jays were on the move again with 7060 passing over, and Ring-billed Duck numbers continue to swell on the marsh. Otherwise, there was very little bird activity. On the non-bird list, it was fantastic to see an endangered Blanding's Turtle make the arduous journey across six feet of flat paved footpath in the late afternoon. These spectacular reptiles are nicknamed "the turtle with the sun under its mouth" due to their beautiful yellow chins. Predictions: Clear skies and mild winds early tonight may bring in some new migrants such as waterfowl or sparrows. Raptor-wise tomorrow will be a bit of a mixed bag, with clear skies creating nice thermals but a southerly wind pushing most birds north of us. We will hopefully see another large movement of Turkey Vultures as they wake-up in the late morning, thinning out to a more quiet afternoon. ======================================================================== 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