HSR: Holiday Beach Raptor Counts, Sep 06, 2002
Holiday Beach Migration Observatory
Essex County, ON, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 06, 2002
---=
Species Day's Count Month Total YTD Total
Turkey Vulture 0 2 2
Osprey 0 7 7
Bald Eagle 0 1 1
Northern Harrier 1 8 8
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 31 31
Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 1 1
Red-tailed Hawk 0 5 5
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 5 72 72
Merlin 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown 0 0 0
Total: 10 127 127
---====
Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 13:00:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Site Coordinator: Bob Pettit
Observers: Jim Crozier
Weather:
Hot, 25 C; NE wind shifting to SSE 0-5 mph; %5 Cloud cover; Very Clear to
Clear; Pressure steady 30.20 mm Hg.
Observations:
Few raptors because of the SE wind component. If birds are flying on SE
winds they are usually north of the site and cross the Detroit river at
Amherstburg or just north of there. HB Conservation Area will get few to
no birds on these days. On the otherhand the site 8 miles west at Lake
Erie Metropark, Southeastern Michigan Raptor Research, SMRR, will see many
more birds on these days because they are a little north of the direct
westward flight line from Holiday Beach and because the birds are blown
north and cross north of their site and are more countable. SMRR counted
199 birds today to our 10! Their variety is also more.
Eastern Phoebe, E. Wood Peewee, Sora estimate 6, Great Egret 100+.
Predictions:
Saturday begins our first of our three weekends of Hawk Festivals. See our
website for details; hbmo.org. There is always a good time to be had by
all. 8am-3 pm.
---======
Report submitted by rpettit@mail.monroe.cc.mi.us
Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at:
http://hbmo.org/
Holiday Beach Migration Observatory
Information on southern Ontario's hawk migration and the Holiday Beach
Conservation Area site
Southwestern Ontario is largely an area of flat, featureless farmland. There
are only two geographic features of note in the region. One is the proximity
of the Great lakes, which influence bird migration in the area to a great
extent, The second is the shape of the province, roughly funnel-shaped with
the narrow end to the southwest. These features confine south-bound bird
migrants, especially hawks, to specific flight corridors.
Holiday Beach Conservation Area was formerly a Provincial Park, but is now
administered by the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA). It is
strategically located at the extreme southwestern tip of southern Ontario.
The park is on the eastern end of a large freshwater estuary known as Big
Creek. (Specifically the site is 1.1 miles south of the junction Highway 20
(old 18) and Essex Road 50, Town of Amherstburg).
The Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO) (founded in 1986) is a
non-profit, volunteer organization formed to promote the study and
protection of migrating birds. Activities focus primarily on fall migration
of raptors and other species. This site is in Essex County, Ontario, on the
north shore of Lake Erie near the Detroit River. In 1988, HBMO persuaded
Detroit Edison to donate a 40 foot Hawk Tower which is now at the site.
Southwestern Ontario has a funneling effect on migrating raptors due to the
geography of the nearby lakes and the reluctance of most raptors to cross
large bodies of water. Birds gain altitude over the flat farmland to the
north and east, rising easily with the thermals that such areas provide in
abundance. As the birds head south they meet Lake Erie and, reluctant to
cross it , turn west. With appropriate wind and weather conditions, birds
pile up along the lake shore and move west until they reach the narrow
crossing at the Detroit River (or island hop within the river mouth).