Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 12, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 226 875 52335 Osprey 0 0 9 Bald Eagle 7 17 76 Northern Harrier 9 90 696 Sharp-shinned Hawk 20 115 8095 Cooper's Hawk 12 36 301 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 32 127 665 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 45368 Red-tailed Hawk 819 1344 4074 Rough-legged Hawk 7 15 22 Golden Eagle 8 18 27 American Kestrel 0 4 1933 Merlin 0 3 160 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 116 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: 1140 2648 113883 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, Michelle Mastellotto, Noel Herdman 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: Frosty morning with -1 for the temperature. Luckily, the cold was not felt as the sun shone brightly and the wind was very calm. This wind came from the North-East most of the day, until it eventually shifted to the South-East in the late afternoon. Once again, not a cloud in sight but plenty of birds coming right out of the blue! Raptor Observations: What a fantastic day on tower! In the end, we totaled 1140 individuals with the strong majority being Red-tailed Hawks (819). From 10 to 1 o'clock, the action was non-stop, as we bent over backwards to count the hundreds of Red-tails forming kettles just below the sun and at the limit of our vision. 32 Red-shouldered Hawks were picked out among the groups, as well as a few Cooper's Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Northern Harriers, and Bald Eagles. Before today, Golden Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks had the case of the "twos"; we had only been able to see them in pairs daily. Well today we broke that curse as we counted 8 Golden Eagles and 7 Rough-legged Hawks! Each eagle was more magnificent that the last, and we were happy to count a dark-morph Roughie! All in all, an absolutely remarkable day at HBMO, thank you North-Eastern winds! Non-raptor Observations: Northern winds do not only affect raptors, they also encourage crow migration, and boy did they move today! We counted 16,390 American Crows flying just as high as the raptors. American Goldfinches are still coming through, as well as Eastern Bluebirds. At the base of the tower, Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows fed on the ground. A slight decrease in the number of Ring-necked Ducks but they remain the rulers of the marsh. Full eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S76172459 Predictions: Winds from the West tomorrow, which is still good news compared to South winds. We could see some rain the morning, but it should clear up and hopefully the sun will come out again. With luck, the birds that have been pushed down towards the lake today will keep coming in our direction and pass over the marsh. Keep your eyes to the sky! ======================================================================== 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