Holiday Beach Hawk Watch
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
Turkey Vulture 58 787 58770
Osprey 0 1 44
Bald Eagle 3 38 514
Northern Harrier 8 93 864
Sharp-shinned Hawk 8 114 7391
Cooper's Hawk 5 24 320
American Goshawk 0 0 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 4 58 380
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 40251
Red-tailed Hawk 33 283 1934
Rough-legged Hawk 0 13 22
Golden Eagle 4 26 58
American Kestrel 0 1 1148
Merlin 2 9 119
Peregrine Falcon 1 10 77
Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 21
Unknown Eagle 0 0 2
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 3
Black Vulture 0 0 1
Observation start time: 07:15:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 8.25 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Daniel Lee, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Peter Veighey,
Robin Smallwood
Visitors:
There was a great turnout of volunteers to assist with the count today, and
everyone who came got to see at least 1 Golden Eagle. Thanks to Mike,
Daniel, Noel, Peter and Robin for helping out. Robyn from Alberta also
spent some time with us on the tower again.
Weather:
Today was a welcome change from the morning weather we have experienced all
week, light West winds, warmer temperatures and a sky devoid of clouds. The
sunrise was quite pleasant on the tower, and the lack of offshore winds
meant we didn't have that bone-chilling cold wind today. The temperature
increased to a balmy 14C by the afternoon, allowing us to shed a layer or
two for the first time in a week. The wind remained moderate from the West
all day, increasing in strength later in the afternoon. The sky remained
clear blue all day, only a few high clouds over the lake in the afternoon.
The barometer held steady near 30.09.
Raptor Observations:
Similar to yesterday we didn't observe massive numbers of migrating raptors
today, but the diversity was good. Turkey Vulture took the top spot at 58,
followed by Red-tailed Hawk at 33. 4 Golden Eagles were seen today, all far
inland passing by to the North of the marsh. Too far for photos, but the
scope views were nice.
Non-raptor Observations:
The light West winds and clear sky in the morning meant ideal conditions
for some songbird species engaging in morning flight. Highlights included
Eastern Bluebird (18), American Robin (326), Cedar Waxwing (726), Lapland
Longspur (1), American Pipit (58) and Purple Finch (46). The star of the
morning without a doubt though was American Goldfinch. Large groups started
passing by just after sunrise, 20-50 birds strong. This movement lasted all
morning, with the highest hourly total of nearly 2,000! In the ended *6,682
American Goldfinches were recorded, which represents a new highcount for
Canada on eBird!
Rusty Blackbirds continue to linger in the forest behind the tower, with
380 recorded today. 2 Eastern Phoebes were seen today and 16 Tree Swallows
flew overhead, both late species for the date. On the marsh 7 Great Egrets
continue to linger late into the month. Duck numbers remain fairly
consistent, though there was a large uptick in Canvasback today (780).
76 species were recorded from the tower. For the full list click the eBird
link below - https://ebird.org/checklist/S284327051
Predictions:
Tomorrow is meant to be another mild day with light wind from the south and
a partly overcast sky. It likely won't be a large raptor day due to the
wind, but if it remains light enough some birds should still be moving.
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Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (kiahbirder@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