Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 16, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 16 972 52432 Osprey 0 0 9 Bald Eagle 1 19 78 Northern Harrier 3 103 709 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 129 8109 Cooper's Hawk 0 46 311 Northern Goshawk 1 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 141 679 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 45368 Red-tailed Hawk 18 1510 4240 Rough-legged Hawk 0 16 23 Golden Eagle 0 19 28 American Kestrel 0 4 1933 Merlin 0 3 160 Peregrine Falcon 1 5 117 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: 43 2968 114203 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 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 and cold with a brisk wind from the south west. The cloud cleared through the day and the temperature rose a little to 6c. The brisk wind stayed with us all day. Raptor Observations: A slow day with low numbers, but a good variety of 8 species. The highlight was a Northern Goshawk mid morning passing quite close to the tower and heading over the marsh. Another nice sighting was a very fast adult Peregrine low over the marsh. Red-tailed Hawks (18)took the highest number prize with Turkey Vultures (16) just behind. Northern Harriers provided a mix of 'one of each' and Sharp-shinned Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawk and Bald Eagles were in ones or twos. Non-raptor Observations: Very few smaller species today, with Pine Siskins (36) and American Goldfinchs (75) the most abundant. Blackbirds have almost disappeared compared to last week. It looked as though wildfowl numbers were much reduced, with the exception of the usual rafts of Ring-necked Ducks (2550). However on closer inspection most were taking shelter on the edge of the marsh. The species mix is similar to last week. It was good to see Tundra Swans (171) resting on the marsh. One flock that flew over the marsh had a Snow Goose hanging on at the back (just). The full list can be found at https://ebird.org/checklist/S76349660 Predictions: North-west winds forecast for tomorrow! Hopefully this will improve both species mix and numbers of raptors. Unfortunately the temperature will be low, but the sun should appear now and again. Need to wrap up warm on the tower. ======================================================================== 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