Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 03, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 0 39 39 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 3 6 6 Northern Harrier 3 15 15 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0 Cooper's Hawk 0 2 2 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 2 2 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 1 6 7 Merlin 1 4 6 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 8 74 77 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Michael Burton-Smith Observers: Chip Ogglesby, Hugh Kent, Mike Jaber, Robin Smallwood Visitors: A huge thanks to Hugh, Mike, Chip and Robin for the days count. It is great to have so much support even in the hot weather! Weather: Very warm and sunny early, with increasing cloud cover through the day. Heavy thunder and lightening threatened around midday, but luckily the storm swung north and we could continue the count. Count abandoned at 1400 EST due to impending storm and low numbers of migrating raptors. Raptor Observations: Another quiet day on the tower. Once again, a raptor did not appear for over an hour, before a brief flurry of Merlin, Kestrel and Northern Harrier. In the afternoon, very quiet except three juvenile Bald Eagle migrating high over the marshes. Non-raptor Observations: The day's eBird checklist can be viewed at As predicted, there was a significant departure of passerines and waterfowl overnight, with most of our Eastern Kingbirds and flycatchers departing. The Cedar Waxwing migration has continued to intensify, with over a thousand moving through over the day. Otherwise relatively quiet, with HO Virginia Rail and American Golden Plover the biggest highlights. Towards the end of the day, there was a notable increase in Monarchs flying high above the marsh. Predictions: Following this evening's storm, it will be interesting to see if we get an influx of southbound passerines stopping to refuel before crossing Lake Eerie. The forecast rain will likely continue to postpone any major raptor influx, but cool, calm conditions with gentle northerly winds over the weekend and into next week will hopefully see the first major movements of Broad-winged and Sharp-shinned Hawks. ======================================================================== 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