Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 17, 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 3623 13168 18045 Osprey 0 8 25 Bald Eagle 9 24 106 Northern Harrier 14 112 315 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1029 2894 6242 Cooper's Hawk 20 81 163 Northern Goshawk 1 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 14 24 27 Broad-winged Hawk 4 17 5258 Red-tailed Hawk 95 171 306 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 155 576 1201 Merlin 4 18 108 Peregrine Falcon 4 28 79 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 4972 17122 31876 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Stasso, Jacob Observers: Chip Ogglesby, Hugh Kent, Jim McCoy, Klekner, Olga, Liz Kent Visitors: We thank all today's observers for their efforts and those interested in the ongoing Hawk Count. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, access to the top level of Hawk Tower is limited to hawk counters and qualified observers only. The 2nd and lower levels are open to the public practising COVID-19 safe precautions (social distancing). Thank you for your understanding and involvement. Weather: Day started off as overcast with strong westerly winds. Towards the afternoon this shifted to a partly cloudy but sunny sky and a strong north westerly wind. Temperatures started at 10 degrees C and increased to about 16 degrees at its peak. Visibility was good throughout the day. Raptor Observations: Busy day for raptors thanks in part to northerly component of winds. Seasonal record numbers reported for Turkey Vultures (3623),Sharpies (1029), Cooper's (20), Red Shouldered (14) and Red Tails (95) reported today. Additionally Kestrels were in strong numbers, although lower then yesterday's at 155. Merlin and Peregrine were also present. Buteos seem to have begun movement with large amounts of Red tails and a good number of Red Shouldered Hawks. A nice sighting was the season's first Northern Goshawk. Non-raptor Observations: Slow day for non-raptors likely due to the strong winds. Marsh numbers remain high, with continuing large numbers of Ring Necked Ducks. Very large number of Starlings were seen at around 15,000. blue Jay movement continues at low levels (4420). Only two Monarchs reported today. https://ebird.org/checklist/S96299399 Predictions: Temperatures are expected to be warmer tomorrow due to clear skies being predicted tomorrow with full sun. Winds are are expected to be less strong and in a primarily north-westerly direction. Hopefully this wind continues to promote raptor movement, especially for buteos. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jacob Stasso (jacobstasso@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 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/hbmo/hbmo-hawk-watch-fall-2021