Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 04, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 48 350 51810 Osprey 0 0 9 Bald Eagle 0 3 62 Northern Harrier 1 24 630 Sharp-shinned Hawk 11 32 8012 Cooper's Hawk 1 6 271 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 4 22 560 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 45368 Red-tailed Hawk 30 104 2834 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 7 Golden Eagle 2 3 12 American Kestrel 0 0 1929 Merlin 0 0 157 Peregrine Falcon 0 3 115 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: 97 547 111782 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: Another beautiful November day on the tower! With a bright blue sky and not a single cloud in sight, the temperature reached 15 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. The wind blew in from the South, creating waves on Lake Erie, but was not felt on the tower, as we are sheltered from the wind on that side. Raptor Observations: Slow day all around, with 97 raptors as a daily total. However, on those 97, two were Golden Eagles! The first flew in North of the tower and very low over the trees just before 10 o'clock. This adult let us see it's golden mane and patterning on the top of the wing. The second, a sub-adult, took the very similar route of as far from the tower as possible just before 11 o'clock. Today's other migrants were 48 Turkey Vultures, 30 Red-tailed Hawks, 22 Sharp-shined Hawks, and 4 Red-shouldered Hawks. A single Cooper's Hawk and Northern Harrier also flew over the marsh. Thankfully, it is more bearable to have a slower day when the temperatures are nice then when we wonder if two coats are enough. Non-raptor Observations: Finches were busy today, with many flocks of Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches bouncing over the tower. A few more Tree Swallows are still spotted hawking over the marsh in the morning. On the marsh, some species of ducks have all but disappeared like American Wigeons and Wood Ducks. The number of Gadwall and Coots has also dropped slightly, but do not worry, Buffleheads and Mergansers have taken their place. Full ebird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S75835863 Predictions: The clouds are coming in tomorrow, with a cloud cover expected for most of the day. The temperature should hover around 15 degrees Celsius and winds will be blowing in from the South-West. I expect tomorrow will feel cooler without the lovely sun. We really hope to see plenty more raptors like Red-tailed Hawks and more Turkey Vultures to bring up our season's count. ======================================================================== 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