Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 05, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 19 369 51829 Osprey 0 0 9 Bald Eagle 0 3 62 Northern Harrier 5 29 635 Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 35 8015 Cooper's Hawk 1 7 272 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 23 561 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 45368 Red-tailed Hawk 4 108 2838 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 7 Golden Eagle 1 4 13 American Kestrel 0 0 1929 Merlin 1 1 158 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: 35 582 111817 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: An incredible sunrise welcomed us to the tower, with pinks, yellows, and oranges all over the sky. Unfortunately, clouds came in quickly to cover the sun and make the sky a drab gray most of the day. Thankfully, the temperature was quite warm reaching 13 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. The wind came from the South and was not felt on the tower once again today. Raptor Observations: Alright, who turned off the raptor tap? Another slow day with a trickle of 35 raptors total. This total was saved by the 19 Turkey Vultures that decided to move quickly past the tower. Northern Harriers were the next most abundant with 5 individuals, then Red-tailed Hawks with 4 individuals, and finally 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks. The rest came in singles; 1 Cooper's Hawk, 1 Red-shouldered Hawk, and 1 Merlin, what a nice surprise! Finally, 1 immature Golden Eagle flew just above the trees to the far North edge of the marsh. With this slower week, we are telling ourselves that it's quality not quantity that matters! Non-raptor Observations: A very special bird passed by the tower today; a Bohemian Waxwing was seen in the trees by the tower! The gorgeous waxwing was in a flock of Cedar Waxwing and stood out because of the rusty colour under the tail. If the raptor tap was shut off, the passerine tap was flowing today! Cedar Waxwings came in big groups with a total of 535 individuals. American Robin totaled over 700 individuals and Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches were seen in the hundreds. During the last hour of the count, Common Grackles, Rusty Blackbirds, and Starlings invaded the tree surrounding the tower. The thousands of birds made such a racket as they stripped the bushes of their few remaining berries. Full ebird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S75875954 Predictions: Yet another hot November day predicted for tomorrow. A mix of sun and cloud will hopefully create thermals and attract a few Turkey Vultures to our area. Winds are still from the South-West so our hopes for a great day are not very high. But we remain hopeful for more Turkey Vultures and buteos, or any raptor for that matter. ======================================================================== 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