Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 19, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 169 33765 35869 Osprey 0 3 8 Bald Eagle 0 9 42 Northern Harrier 2 241 451 Sharp-shinned Hawk 64 3400 7349 Cooper's Hawk 4 119 191 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 23 110 111 Broad-winged Hawk 0 193 45366 Red-tailed Hawk 14 538 722 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 1 1 American Kestrel 0 704 1916 Merlin 1 48 151 Peregrine Falcon 3 46 102 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: 280 39179 92284 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Hugh Kent Observers: Elizabeth Kent, Michael Arthurs 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: Overcast all day with rain until late morning. Wind was moderate from the North, increasing towards end of the day. Raw feeling with temperature at about 9c with high humidity. Raptor Observations: The day started with rain, but gradually cleared after the rain stopped late morning. When the rain ended the Buteos were reluctant to fly at first with some perching in the surrounding trees. Red-shouldered Hawks (23) were the most numerous buteos with a number of fine adults. Sharp-shinned Hawks valiantly flew in most hours reaching 64. Turkey Vultures (169) migrated for a couple of hours in the early afternoon. It was again great to see a few Merlins and Peregrines rushing past us. Northern Harriers were disappointing with only 2 seen during the day. Non-raptor Observations: A small number of Blue Jays trickled past (105), with American Crows (80) on the up. Waterfowl continue to increase with a significant number of American Coots (1700) now on the marsh. Green-winged Teal and Ruddy Duck are beginning to be more regular visitors. Songbirds were few with the expected Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers present around the Tower. Blackbirds are maintaining their presence and it was good to see a single Hermit Thrush. For a full list, checkout https://ebird.org/checklist/S75116459 Predictions: Tomorrow the winds keep their northern aspect. Combined with a slight increase in temperature and no rain, hopefully we should see an increase in Raptor numbers. If the ground warms, the ensuing the thermals should attract more Turkey Vultures and accompanying buteos. ======================================================================== 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