Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 06, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 1950 5166 8639 Osprey 0 0 26 Bald Eagle 0 13 220 Northern Harrier 25 109 690 Sharp-shinned Hawk 26 528 5962 Cooper's Hawk 2 19 131 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 1 Broad-winged Hawk 0 20 107074 Red-tailed Hawk 5 65 467 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 19 123 1492 Merlin 1 10 113 Peregrine Falcon 0 16 50 Unknown Accipitrine 0 1 2 Unknown Buteo 0 2 4 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 3 Unknown Raptor 3 3 25 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 2031 6076 124900 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Michael Burton-Smith Observers: Hugh Kent, Juliette Herdman, Liz Kent, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Robin Smallwood, Wade Carlton Visitors: Thanks to Wade, Mike, Noel, Hugh, Liz, Robin and Juliette for helping conduct today's count. It was also great to be joined by Tony and Lou, Pilla, Steve and David, Susan and John, and Emily and her sixth-graders! Weather: Clear skies with a gentle southerly breeze through the day. Quite brisk in the early morning (especially after Wade stole my hoodie), but warmed into the mid-twenties in the afternoon. Raptor Observations: Another healthy day for Turkey Vulture, although the southerly component to the wind meant that most were little more than specks to the north. Otherwise a very quiet day, although a few close immature harriers and a pot-bellied Merlin kept us entertained. Non-raptor Observations: The day's eBird list can be viewed at https://ebird.org/checklist/S399854247?subID=S399854247. Not your normal October day! We had a surprisingly busy crowd of small birds, including eight species of warbler, fourteen White-throated Sparrow, and a healthy number of Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Whoever wrote in the report last night that we need to keep eyes open for Orange-crowned Warblers must be psychic, with one appearing just after lunch. We also had our first Blue-headed Vireo for the season, and another flyover American Golden Plover. The thinning lilies are making viewing across the marsh easier, with a great diversity of ducks and five of our teenage gallinules showing well. Predictions: With clear skies overnight we may see another turnover in warblers, kinglets and sparrows, and it will be interesting to see who is around in the morning. Raptor-wise it should be fairly similar to today, with Turkey Vultures continuing to pass in good numbers at a distance. ======================================================================== 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