Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 18567 57695 62572 Osprey 0 9 26 Bald Eagle 6 52 134 Northern Harrier 10 281 484 Sharp-shinned Hawk 164 4089 7437 Cooper's Hawk 22 142 224 Northern Goshawk 0 3 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 198 283 286 Broad-winged Hawk 1 20 5261 Red-tailed Hawk 323 1027 1162 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 3 5 5 American Kestrel 3 674 1299 Merlin 2 23 113 Peregrine Falcon 1 35 86 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 Total: 19300 64339 79093 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks, Chip Ogglesby, Dan Loncke, Kit McCann, Liz Kent Visitors: We thank all today's observers for their outstanding efforts and those interested in the ongoing Hawk Count. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, access to the top level of Hawk Tower is limited to hawk counters and qualified observers only. The 2nd and lower levels are open to the public practising COVID-19 safe precautions (social distancing). Thank you for your understanding and involvement. Weather: The day was dominated by a moderate to mostly strong wind from the north west. Starting clear, scattered clouds increased throughout the day, visibility remained good all day. The temperature remained below 10c, except for an hour mid afternoon. Raptor Observations: After the hawk wash of yesterday, it seemed that we saw two days worth of raptors today. Turkey Vultures again dominated with a staggering total of 18567, the second largest in HBMO hawk watch history. Significant numbers of buteos were mixed with the stream, with 323 Red-tailed Hawks and 198 Red-shouldered Hawks. Sharp-shinned Hawks (164) again passed with good numbers and Cooper's Hawks (22) saw an increase. All three falcon species were seen, but in very low numbers. 3 immature Golden Eagles were seen within the space of an hour mid afternoon. Non-raptor Observations: Generally a quiet day for other species, but there was the usual rush of Blackbirds in the early morning. It was nice to spot two Eastern Meadowlarks flying with them. American Crows (2700) are on the increase with hardly any Blue Jays being seen. A few late Tree Swallows (14) were spotted within the mass of raptors. Duck numbers remain high. The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S96750285 Predictions: Tomorrow the wind is forecast to remain from the north, so it is likely we will have the same mix of raptors as today, with possibly reduced numbers. The day will be overcast, hopefully the cloud level will not be too low and provide a good background to spot the raptors. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Hugh Kent (Hughnkent@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 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/hbmo/hbmo-hawk-watch-fall-2021