Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 30, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 1196 74118 77591 Osprey 0 4 30 Bald Eagle 8 164 371 Northern Harrier 21 558 1139 Sharp-shinned Hawk 27 3237 8671 Cooper's Hawk 4 239 351 American Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 26 403 404 Broad-winged Hawk 0 53 107107 Red-tailed Hawk 153 2210 2612 Rough-legged Hawk 3 11 11 Golden Eagle 6 58 58 American Kestrel 1 862 2231 Merlin 3 61 164 Peregrine Falcon 5 55 89 Unknown Accipitrine 0 4 5 Unknown Buteo 0 9 11 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 3 Unknown Raptor 0 5 27 Black Vulture 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 1453 82054 200878 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Michael Burton-Smith Observers: Bryan Girling, David Wharton, Frances Girling, Hugh Kent, Jaron Wilkinson, Kate Fairbairn, Kiah Jasper, Liz Kent, Mike Jaber, Peter Veighey, Stephen Courtney Visitors: It was great to be joined by Kiah, Bryan, Fran, David, Steve, Hugh, Liz, Jaron, Kate and Mike across the day. A special thank you to Peter, who bravely and perhaps foolishly leant me his car so that I could (unsuccessfully) chase a Fox Sparrow reported at Carp Crossing, and to Steve and David who kept us well supplied with doughnuts on the tower. It was also lovely to be visited Fred, Amanda and Alain. Weather: Clear skies throughout the day with temperatures rising from around 9 at dawn to the upper teens. Winds from the northwest gave way to moderate southwesterlies in the mid-afternoon. Raptor Observations: It is a day that will live on in Holiday Beach history forever - the season we beat 200,000 birds for the first time! This isn't just a big year but one that has shattered the books, beating the previous all-time high by fifty-thousand birds and with a month still to go. After a slow morning there was talk on the tower of the record-breaking bird not coming until tomorrow, before a late surge of Turkey Vulture thrust us over the line with a little under two hours to spare - much to the relief of the week staff! Along the way we also added Bryan's first Roughie for the year, which was a very satisfying view if what he wanted was a speck a mile up in the sky, six Golden Eagle, and three crucial Merlin. The most incredible moment of the day, however, was stolen by an immature Peregrine hunting starlings over the dip for several minutes in the late morning. If the Turkey Vulture is like a World War Two bomber as Hugh describes them, then the Peregrine surely must be a Spitfire, wheeling and stooping in its effort to separate a weak starling from the flock. Non-raptor Observations: The day's eBird checklist can be viewed at https://ebird.org/checklist/S406683929. The morning's nocturnal checklist can be viewed at https://ebird.org/checklist/S406679043. Entering Holiday Beach under the cover of darkness, Kiah�s defensive driving kicked in to avoid a rotund raccoon the size of a small bear lumbering across the road. We ascended the tower illuminated by moonlight and, assuming the personalities of the stars above us, Orion (Kiah: supernaturally talented and with vision restored by the rising sun) and Mars (me: a red-headed orb) pulled off our mission: American Woodcock for the tower list! As the sun peaked over the horizon, the skies were blackened once again by almost seventy-thousand birds leaving their roosts on the north side of the marsh in an unbelievable spectacle. The flock was estimated to consist of 41150 Common Grackle, 8590 Red-winged Blackbird and 17500 European Starling. Through the day we had good diurnal passerine migration, including 86 Eastern Bluebird, 168 Pine Siskin and 64 Purple Finch. Two Common Raven in the mid-afternoon were an unexpected addition to the day list and the second for the season, and it was a good day for many of our familiar faces including the return of Leaf the Meadow Vole, Peter Cottontail, and Kinky the Mute Swan. Predictions: Tomorrow's wonky winds and cloudy skies will likely dampen raptor migration, but these are perfect conditions for Northern Harrier, Peregrine and Merlin so we will hopefully get strong showings of all three. Moderate south-easterlies in the morning may create good lake-watching conditions, so keep eyes peeled for Scaup and Scoters over Erie. ======================================================================== 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