Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 19, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 1 5037 54273 Osprey 0 0 36 Bald Eagle 0 38 231 Northern Harrier 6 317 774 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 382 5350 Cooper's Hawk 0 67 304 Northern Goshawk 0 0 6 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 591 806 Broad-winged Hawk 0 6 25779 Red-tailed Hawk 7 4087 4905 Rough-legged Hawk 0 21 21 Golden Eagle 0 20 23 American Kestrel 0 22 1732 Merlin 1 12 119 Peregrine Falcon 0 9 60 Unknown Accipiter 0 3 8 Unknown Buteo 1 13 25 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 3 7 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 18 10628 94460 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Maryse Gagné Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks Visitors: Thank you to Bob Hall-Brooks for stopping-by to keep me company for an hour, always a pleasure! Weather: Damp and gloomy day on the tower with very weak SW winds and a thick fog surrounding the marsh. Even with raptors were flying, it would have been practically impossible to spot and identify them if they didn't fly directly above the tower. As the day progressed, the fog got worse and I was left with only about a kilometer of visibility. Raptor Observations: Raptor migration hit the brakes today, with only 18 raptors flying during the count. The most abundant were Red-tailed Hawks (7) and Northern Harriers (6). A single Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, and Turkey Vulture were spotted migrating. Most hawks took an interesting route, flying from tree to tree before actually moving across the marsh. Still at least 16 Bald Eagles (juvenile and adults) spending time on the frozen marsh. Non-raptor Observations: Not a whole lot of non-raptors migrating as well, but the most abundant migrants today were Cedar Waxwings, Robins, and Bluebirds. The base of the tower was busier with Winter Wrens, Black-capped Chickadees, Song, Swamp, and White-throated Sparrows. Approximately three Carolina Wrens called to each other all day, quite close to the tower. Also many woodpeckers in the trees including Downy, Northern Flicker, Red-bellied and a Hairy Woodpecker. The most interesting observation today was spotting two red foxes by the base of the tower and wandering across the frozen marsh, what a lovely sight! Full eBird list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S61587999 Predictions: Sunshine and North-West winds are expected tomorrow morning! Of course, the wind will do a complete shift to the South-West by the afternoon. Hoping to get a few more raptors than today. ======================================================================== 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