Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 18, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 116 5036 54272 Osprey 0 0 36 Bald Eagle 0 38 231 Northern Harrier 3 311 768 Sharp-shinned Hawk 13 381 5349 Cooper's Hawk 5 67 304 Northern Goshawk 0 0 6 Red-shouldered Hawk 16 590 805 Broad-winged Hawk 0 6 25779 Red-tailed Hawk 168 4080 4898 Rough-legged Hawk 0 21 21 Golden Eagle 1 20 23 American Kestrel 1 22 1732 Merlin 1 11 118 Peregrine Falcon 2 9 60 Unknown Accipiter 0 3 8 Unknown Buteo 0 12 24 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 3 7 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 326 10610 94442 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Maryse Gagné Observers: Dave Martin, Jim McCoy, Len Jones, Linda Wladarski Visitors: Thank you John Barnes who spent some time with me in the morning. Additional thanks to Dave Martin, Linda Wladarski, Jim McCoy, and Lene Jones for their afternoon visit to the tower and to Neil, Colleen and Chris for their visit later in the day. Lastly, thank you to Tim Jarrold visiting with a lovely Merlin (one of my personal favourites)! Weather: Another beautiful day on the tower, with temperatures around 8 degrees, minimal cloud cover, and warm sunshine. Winds seemed promising in the morning, blowing very slightly from the North-East, only to shift to the South-West by the afternoon. Raptor Observations: Still a good number of Red-tailed Hawks and Turkey Vultures flying overhead today. Most raptors flew quite North of the tower and got some good height in the blue sky. Red-tailed Hawks still came in at an impressive 168 individuals and Turkey Vultures at 116. Among them, a few more Red-shouldered Hawks (16) came to the party, all mostly adults. Only three Northern Harriers today, a stark contrast to last week. One juvenile Golden Eagle in the morning and all three falcon species were counted today, 1 female American Kestrel, 1 Merlin (released from the tower after banding), and two Peregrine Falcons. Non-raptor Observations: Typical day for non-raptor migration with Goldfinches, Horned Larks, Bluebirds, and Crows flying by. Around the base of the tower, you could spot Downy Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees and a Brown Creeper. Out on the marsh many duck species are still present, and closer to the tower, all three species of Mergansers (Hooded, Common, and Red-breasted) were spotted, along with Buffleheads and Ruddy Ducks. Lastly, approximately 16 Bald Eagles are spending their time on the marsh, and can be seen disturbing the ducks, locking talons with each other and flying back and forth on the marsh. Check out our full eBird list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S61566328 Predictions: Tomorrow, the clouds are coming in again and temperatures are expected to stay around 2-3 degrees Celsius most of the day and winds are expected to blow from the South-West. After this weekend's success, migration might seem slow, but I'm hoping that Northern Harriers will pick up again and buteos will keep coming through. ======================================================================== 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