Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 1071 23486 25590 Osprey 0 2 7 Bald Eagle 0 8 41 Northern Harrier 16 206 416 Sharp-shinned Hawk 47 2891 6840 Cooper's Hawk 8 101 173 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 51 52 Broad-winged Hawk 6 193 45366 Red-tailed Hawk 48 257 441 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 1 677 1889 Merlin 3 43 146 Peregrine Falcon 0 34 90 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 1203 27950 81055 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent Observers: Elizabeth 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: The day started overcast with a light easterly wind. The sky cleared during the morning, but became overcast again in the afternoon, slowing the migration. Temperature was around 20c rising to 24c in late morning, falling again in the afternoon. The wind gradually rose in the afternoon moving SE. Luckily the rain held off. Raptor Observations: Raptor numbers were much reduced today, with migration happening mid to late morning. The variety was similar to yesterday, with Red-tailed Hawk (48), Red-shouldered Hawk (3) and Broad- winged Hawk (6) all making an appearance. Turkey Vultures (1071) took a mostly northern track. Sharp - shinned Hawks appeared in lower numbers (47), but it was good to see more male Northern Harriers (4/16). Falcons were almost absent with one American Kestrel and 3 fast and direct Merlins. Non-raptor Observations: It was great to be welcomed to the tower this morning by an overflight of 2 Sandhill Cranes. Blue Jay numbers were down but still with a respectable 17,710. Blackbird numbers continue to increase with 692 Common Grackle, 930 Red-winged Blackbird and a few more Rusty Blackbirds (31). Waterfowl numbers are growing on the marsh including 560 American Coots, 220 Gadwall and 230 Ring-necked Duck. It was good to see a female Indigo Bunting in the bushes below the tower at the end of the day. A full list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S74758436 Predictions: With the rain hopefully passing through tonight, tomorrow looks bright with a northerly component to the wind. Should be a better day for migration with more Turkey Vultures accompanied by buteos. Hopefully it will also be a better day for the other species, especially Falcons. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Hugh Kent (Hughnkent@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