Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 18, 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 1 1 1 Turkey Vulture 6222 8233 10482 Osprey 2 8 59 Bald Eagle 42 149 328 Northern Harrier 72 181 547 Sharp-shinned Hawk 399 1608 2834 Cooper's Hawk 34 94 127 Northern Goshawk 0 10 10 Red-shouldered Hawk 16 19 21 Broad-winged Hawk 5 7 23654 Red-tailed Hawk 120 142 211 Rough-legged Hawk 1 2 2 Golden Eagle 2 10 10 American Kestrel 76 456 1178 Merlin 3 41 79 Peregrine Falcon 3 55 107 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 2 3 Total: 6998 11018 39653 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Dave Brown Observers: Chris Burris, Keith Sealy, Matt Oswald, Rob Spaul Visitors: Thanks to Dave B as official counter today along with Matt O, Chris B and Rob Spaul along with several others who helped with today’s count. Weather: Heavier cloud cover to start then breaking out to mostly blue skies and eventually the clouds were completely gone. Winds were moderate from the NW and WNW even swinging to NNW for a time before ending back at NW. Temps ranged from a cool start at 7C and hit a high of 14C. The humidity was much lower today which definitely helped with the flight and pressure was rising and then holding steady for the afternoon. Raptor Observations: A really fantastic day of hawk watching and thoroughly enjoyed by all the counters and observers. Having lots of clouds around ensured the bulk of raptors were easily spotted even naked eye and many of the Sharpies, Am Kestrels and N Harriers passed by right on the deck. We had a total of 6998 birds today with the majority being TVs (6222). The TVs are likely an undercount given we were seeing black dots crossing well inland in large swaths across the sky all day that were almost certainly TVs. The TVs we tallied were pretty much all within binocular view from our observation site. The big highlights today were: 1) A WESTERN RED-TAILED HAWK (calurus subspecies) that crossed right over the counters at 10:40 EST. This was a VERY dark bird and immediately stood out as it approached from the east. The undersides (body and underwings) were either dark brown or chestnut and the tail had a hint of rusty red. The patagial marks were still visible and there was a brown mottling at the carpal area of each wing with noticeable commas showing. The bird circled a couple of times giving great views and a couple of record photos were taken. The bird then headed quickly off to the west and out of sight. 2) A BLACK VULTURE that Rob spotted at 12:15 EST circling up to the north of the ravine. The ID was pretty straightforward as the bird showed a stubby tail as compared to nearby TVs and very obvious white primaries (showing white patches at the end of each wing). The bird gained some height and flew slightly southward before swinging westward and disappearing over the bush lot behind us. Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors: Hermit Thrush, Am Robin, Blue Jay, BC Chickadee, GC and RC Kinglet, Carolina Wrens, Common Loons, N Flicker, Am Woodcock, Canada Goose, Yellow-rump Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Am Goldfinch, White-throated Sparrow, N Cardinal, Pine Siskin, European Starling, E Bluebird, Common Grackle, Purple Finch, WB and RB Nuthatch, E Towhee, Rusty Blackbirds, Am Crow, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Winter Wren, Mourning Dove, DC Cormorant, Brown-headed Cowbird, YB Sapsucker, Common Raven, Am Pipit, Killdeer. Monarchs: 3 Predictions: Tuesday is forecast to have lots of sunshine and moderate W winds. Westerly winds usually slows down the flight but if there's plenty of sunshine birds will continue to ride any thermals they can find and move westward. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown (thebrowns@ezlink.ca) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm More site information at hawkcount.org: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=392