Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 16, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 9 353 353 Osprey 2 25 25 Bald Eagle 2 66 66 Northern Harrier 19 165 165 Sharp-shinned Hawk 549 2616 2616 Cooper's Hawk 5 41 41 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 411 25304 25304 Red-tailed Hawk 0 72 72 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 63 527 527 Merlin 6 59 59 Peregrine Falcon 1 11 11 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 Total: 1067 29239 29239 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Chad Cornish Observers: Hugh Kent, Jeremy Bensette, Liz Kent, Noel Herdman, Patrick Tomlinson, Steve Wagner, Xander Campbell Visitors: Thanks to Chad for being the Official Counter today, the first day of Hawk Fest. Also Clay, Jeremy, Liz, Noel, Patrick, Steve and Xander did a great job observing and educating the many, many Hawk Fest visitors to the Tower. It was fantastic to see so many interested visitors who were given a great show of the wonders of Hawk Migration. Weather: Like yesterday there was a light wind from the north until mid morning, which then changed to a moderate wind from the south west. Initial clear skies clouded over to a near overcast sky, but clouds were light and high. Temperature was low in the morning increasing to mid twenties by midday. Visibility was good throughout the day. Raptor Observations: Again Sharp-shinned Hawks (549) led the pack, flying over pretty much continuously until the last hour. Broad-winged Hawks (411) kettled briefly to the north just before the wind changed and then came over in small numbers thereafter. American Kestrels (63) were next appearing mid morning onwards. Fewer Northern Harriers (19) were seen today, but we did see our first 'gray ghost' of the season. All other species seen were in numbers lower than ten. Non-raptor Observations: Duck numbers and species continue to increase on the marsh with 8 species seen with good flybys of Northern Pintail and American Wigeon. A Virginia Rail was seen in a short flight over the part of the pond east of the Tower - a new species for the season. Songbird numbers were lower today but a nice male Wilson's Warbler and Philadelphia Vireo were seen in the trees close to the Tower. A good flight of Monarch Butterflies again today with 206 seen passing the Tower. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S150064748 Predictions: Let's hope the second day of Hawk Fest tomorrow will be another great day. Clear skies are forecast for the morning with patchy cloud in the afternoon. A light breeze from the north all day should bring more Broad-winged Hawks and of course Sharp shins and Kestrels. Light rain is forecast, but only late in the day. ======================================================================== 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