Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 23, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Osprey 0 3 3 Bald Eagle 0 27 27 Northern Harrier 5 166 166 Sharp-shinned Hawk 215 2801 2801 Cooper's Hawk 2 52 52 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 45167 45167 Red-tailed Hawk 0 184 184 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 5 950 950 Merlin 3 58 58 Peregrine Falcon 1 13 13 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 Turkey Vulture 0 1583 1583 Total: 231 51007 51007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: We are loving these September days on the tower, with lovely temperatures and a slight breeze. This breeze blew in from the South-West most of the day which managed to keep most migrants at bay. Our visibility was not great in the morning and worsened slightly during the day, making it difficult to see the American shore of the lake, usually quite visible on a normal day. Raptor Observations: Even with South-Western winds, a good number of migrants graced us with their presence. 215 Sharp-shinned Hawks flew by, only starting their flight in the early afternoon. 3 Merlins and a Peregrine zoomed by, hoping to grab a Blue Jay snack for the road, but were unsuccessful. Additionally, we spotted 2 Cooper's Hawks and 5 Northern Harriers. Non-raptor Observations: The Blue Jays just keep on coming, and today was no exception as we counted 36,580 individuals! It was an absolutely crazy morning with 10,000 jays coming in the first 45 minutes of the count. Luckily for our counter, not very many hawks were flying among them. The fun lasted until late morning and fewer were spotted later in the day. We had a few more interesting species today including our first Sandhill Cranes of the year as well as an Orange-crowed Warbler. Another big day for American Goldfinches with 878 individuals bouncing past. Ducks are becoming more abundant on the marsh, but some species like Great Egrets and Cormorants are slowly dwindling in numbers. Full ebird list: https://ebird.org/checklist/S73974769 Predictions: We are expecting Western winds tomorrow, which are supposed to shift to the South-West by the afternoon, as well as a sunny and warm day. We hope to keep seeing Sharp-shinned Hawks coming in similar numbers, and maybe another big batch of Blue Jays, even if our clicker is getting tired! ======================================================================== 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: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=100