Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 19, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 251 1273 1273 Osprey 0 2 2 Bald Eagle 0 27 27 Northern Harrier 24 149 149 Sharp-shinned Hawk 183 2235 2235 Cooper's Hawk 3 46 46 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 3312 45165 45165 Red-tailed Hawk 11 176 176 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 11 940 940 Merlin 3 51 51 Peregrine Falcon 0 9 9 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Total: 3798 50076 50076 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: What we thought was going to be a cool day on the tower turned to be quite the opposite, and we quickly shed layer after layer as the day progress. Our day was not cold since the winds were not as strong as anticipated and they started by blowing from the North-East, only to stop and change direction from the South-West in the afternoon. Not a cloud in sight so were were left with a bright blue sky and a warm sun. Raptor Observations: Strong start to the day with many Sharp-shinned Hawks zipping over the tower. As the air warmed up, a few kettles of Broad-winged Hawks appeared and we counted 3,312 individuals throughout the day. We were hoping to count a few thousand more, but as the winds changed our river of raptors ran dry, and by the end of the afternoon we only counted a few birds. We were happy to count 251 Turkey Vultures meandering past, as well as 24 Northern Harriers, with many flying in the afternoon. Today, we noticed many Sharp-shinned Hawks hunting at the base of the tower, trying to catch a snack for the road. It is always thrilling to see a raptor hunting! Non-raptor Observations: Today's highlight was an Olive-sided Flycatcher spotted sitting on the highest branch of a dead tree by the tower! Warblers are still about, and Yellow-rumped Warblers are quickly becoming the most abundant. American Goldfinches came in big groups over the tower (235), but nothing could compare to the streams of Blue Jays flying past us and by the end of the day, we counted 13,320 Jays. On the marsh, we are spotting new ducks and today we added American Widgeons to our list. Notable omissions were Cedar Waxwings and Purple Martins. Full bird list: https://ebird.org/checklist/S73800948 Predictions: Tomorrow promises to bring us pleasant temperatures on the tower, even if the winds are supposed to blow from the East and South-East all day. However, overnight North-Eastern winds may bring us a few more songbirds. Tomorrow, we are hoping to keep seeing Sharp-shinned Hawks, but also a few more American Kestrels and Northern Harriers. We could potentially see a few more straggling Broad-winged Hawks but we won't hold our breath for any big kettles. ======================================================================== 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: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=100