Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 13, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 3 158 180 Osprey 0 10 10 Bald Eagle 7 58 61 Northern Harrier 14 132 151 Sharp-shinned Hawk 154 841 843 Cooper's Hawk 8 35 36 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 23 416 428 Red-tailed Hawk 3 225 265 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 17 334 342 Merlin 2 30 30 Peregrine Falcon 0 13 13 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Mississippi Kite 0 1 1 Total: 231 2253 2360 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Kiah Jasper Observers: Alessandra Kite, Chad Cornish, Dana Ogglesby, Hugh Kent, Larry Ludwicki, Liz Kent, Matt Brannagan, Noel Herdman Visitors: Today saw a number of visitors making the climb up the tower, some of whom were quite interested in our raptor watch. Thanks to Alessandra, Chad, Dana, Hugh, Liz, Larry, Matt, Noel, David and Jane for helping with the spotting today. Weather: Yet another day with the same sky, hot temperature (28c max), and Southeast winds. The wind was more constant than yesterday (though only 10kph gusts), which provided some relief from the heat. The pressure remains constant, sitting just above 30.00. Raptor Observations: Despite the Southeast winds we experienced a decent flight of raptors, with an average of around 20 Sharp-shinned Hawks per hour. Our total for today was the result of many strained eyes, with the flight line being very high and spread out. We jealously checked in on the Detroit River count throughout the day, as it seems they are getting the Broad-winged Hawks that are meant to be at our site! (over 600 there today) Non-raptor Observations: The Blue Jays have begun their passage now, with 307 recorded this morning. Jay numbers will build over the coming weeks, with numbers reaching the thousands by October. It was a slow day for passerine migration overall today, with 168 American Goldfinch and only 5 warbler species recorded from the tower. Highlights on the non raptor front included 3 Black-crowned Night-Herons and many Bonaparte's Gulls flycatching overhead. 69 Species were observed from the tower today, for the full list click here https://ebird.org/checklist/S194990846 Predictions: Tomorrow is the first day of Hawkfest here at Holiday Beach, and we look forward to welcoming visitors and (hopefully) showing them some birds. The current weather models are predicting another hot, sunny day with winds from the Southeast... so not ideal conditions for our hawkwatch! Unless the wind shifts North I expect the count will be fairly similar to today. ======================================================================== 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