Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 30, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 142 2104 2104 Osprey 0 5 5 Bald Eagle 3 33 33 Northern Harrier 3 210 210 Sharp-shinned Hawk 84 3949 3949 Cooper's Hawk 4 72 72 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 1 Broad-winged Hawk 0 45173 45173 Red-tailed Hawk 0 184 184 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 55 1212 1212 Merlin 8 103 103 Peregrine Falcon 14 56 56 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Total: 313 53105 53105 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Maryse Gagné Observers: Elizabeth Kent, Hugh Kent Visitors: We appreciate all the interest in the tower and the hawk watch but remind everyone that the tower remains closed to members of the public and has a three-person limit reserved for the Hawk Counters. Thank you to all who are respecting these precautions. Be safe everyone! Weather: Gusty gusty day! Very strong winds blew from the South-West most of the day, staying at an average of 25-30 km/h, but gusting up to 55 km/h in the afternoon. This wind kept the air cool and full clouds covered us for most of the day. For a glorious hour in the afternoon, the sun shone brightly to take the chill out of the air and reveal a clear blue sky. With only minutes to spare, we managed to miss the rain at the end of the day. Thank you to the clouds for waiting until we were safely in our cars. Raptor Observations: Despite the very strong winds, raptors were still migrating. We admired the Turkey Vultures doing acrobatics into the wind, Sharp-shinned Hawks trying to find the best route to over the marsh, and finally American Kestrels worked really hard to fly in a semi-straight line. We were very happy to count 14 Peregrine Falcons aggressively flying over the marsh, assailing every passer-by even innocent Turkey Vultures. A few Cooper's Hawks, Bald Eagles, Merlins, and Northern Harriers also made their way over the marsh. Non-raptor Observations: Today's wind made it a bit difficult for most passerines to attempt a big migration. The most impressive migrant was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird zipping by the tower even in the wind! Blue Jays were still in attendance with 10,0810 individuals, while the American Goldfinches were down to only 33 individuals. Tree Swallows could be spotted feeding over the marsh, surrounding the Widgeons, Pintails, Mallards, Swans, and the few remaining Egrets. Full ebird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74256847 Predictions: Tomorrow we are expecting winds from the West, but thankfully not as strong! The morning should bring us some sun and bit of clouds, but some rain is expected in the afternoon. Hopefully, it will hold off until after the count. We hope to keep seeing many Peregrine Falcons blasting through the marsh, but maybe throw in a buteo or two! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Maryse Gagné (maryse.gagne35@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