Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 18, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 10 982 52442 Osprey 0 0 9 Bald Eagle 0 21 80 Northern Harrier 2 113 719 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 131 8111 Cooper's Hawk 2 48 313 Northern Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 6 166 704 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 45368 Red-tailed Hawk 58 1684 4414 Rough-legged Hawk 1 18 25 Golden Eagle 0 22 31 American Kestrel 0 4 1933 Merlin 1 4 161 Peregrine Falcon 0 6 118 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 2 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 81 3200 114435 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 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: Cold start to the day with the temperature at -3 degrees Celsius. A thin sheet over ice covered the small pond and puddles in the area. Thankfully, the sun came up quickly over the trees and gradually warmed the air, and by the end of the day we were sitting at a nice 7 degrees. The wind did keep a chill in the air, blowing from the South-West all day. Raptor Observations: Today's flight line could be described as: as far away from the counters as possible. Raptor sure delivered on that promise. Red-tailed Hawks were the most abundant with 58 individuals. A few Red-shouldered Hawks (6), Turkey Vultures (10), Northern Harriers (2) Cooper's Hawks (2), and a Sharp-shinned Hawks joined in the migration fun. Our exciting species for the day were a Merlin, seen early in the morning and a dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk cruising far north. Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors have really slowed down but some species are continuing their migration, including 200 American Crows. Finches are still coming through, most of them American Goldfinches. A few Pine Siskins, Purple Finches, House Finches, and Common Redpolls are also joining in. Today we counted a few more Eastern Bluebirds and Cedar Waxwings. At the base of the tower, American Tree Sparrows, Brown Creepers and Golden-crowed Kinglet are still seen. Buffleheads are gaining ground on the marsh, their white little bodies shinning out against the water. A couple of Hooded Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, Red-breasted Mergansers made an appearance on the marsh today. The eBird platform is currently undergoing maintenance for 48 hours. Checklists will be uploaded at a later time. Predictions: Temperatures are rising tomorrow, with the mercury expected to reach 15 degrees Celsius by the end of the day! The wind will blow strongly from the South-West, which will probably keep our 15 deg feeling slightly cooler. These predictions are not very favourable for hawk migration, but we hope to keep seeing a good few Red-tailed Hawks. ======================================================================== 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