Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 10, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 5 157 157 Osprey 2 11 11 Bald Eagle 2 90 90 Northern Harrier 7 143 143 Sharp-shinned Hawk 43 374 374 Cooper's Hawk 3 19 19 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 65 653 653 Red-tailed Hawk 2 104 104 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 10 275 276 Merlin 1 23 25 Peregrine Falcon 0 6 6 Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 4 4 Total: 140 1859 1862 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Michael Burton-Smith Observers: Mike Jaber, Robin Smallwood Visitors: Thanks to Mike and Robin for helping out on the tower today, as well as to our visitors Wade, Linda, Sherry and Jamie for coming along and making it a really enjoyable day. A special shoutout to Bob who came from the banding station to show us a juvenile female Sharp-shinned Hawk! Weather: Gentle southerly through the day, with temperatures rising to the late twenties in the afternoon. It was disappointing not to have the lower temperatures and northerly winds promised by last night's forecast! Raptor Observations: It was a relatively quiet day on the whole due to the mild thermal uplift and southerly updraft. Peak migration occurred between 1100 and 1200 EST, with two-thirds of the day's raptors passing through in this period. This was primarily composed of Broad-winged Hawk (62) and a smaller movement of Sharp-shinned Hawk (18). Non-raptor Observations: The day's checklist can be viewed at https://ebird.org/checklist/S391622287. It was relatively quiet overall, though a male Purple Finch, moderate movements of Cedar Waxwing (328) and American Goldfinch (104), and a large mixed-species party of Northern Flicker, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpecker were all notable. The two most unexpected sightings for the day were a pair of Common Gallinule with seven chicks feeding in the lotus leaves and a really unseasonal influx of 149 Purple Martins which continued to pass overhead throughout the day. Predictions: Slight northerlies in the early morning coupled with clear skies may create suitable conditions for a moderate movement of Broad-winged and Sharp-shinned Hawk in the late morning, but southerlies developing in the afternoon could mean it is a few days until we see another major migration event. ======================================================================== 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