Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 17, 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 835 2011 4260 Osprey 0 6 57 Bald Eagle 27 107 286 Northern Harrier 16 109 475 Sharp-shinned Hawk 274 1209 2435 Cooper's Hawk 8 60 93 Northern Goshawk 0 10 10 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 3 5 Broad-winged Hawk 0 2 23649 Red-tailed Hawk 7 22 91 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 6 8 8 American Kestrel 130 380 1102 Merlin 9 38 76 Peregrine Falcon 2 52 104 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 2 3 Total: 1315 4020 32655 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Chris Burris Observers: Visitors: Thanks again to Chris B for doing today's official count along with many others who helped with spotting the birds. Weather: Temps ranged from 7C to 14C. The wind began as moderate NW (about 15 km/h), swung to W (at least at ground level, and back to NW by the end of the count period. Cloud coverage increased from 10% to 70%: Rain patches were clearly visible to the N and E, but it stayed mostly sunny at the cliff itself. Raptor Observations: Overall, an awesome day with over 1300 birds, with Turkey Vultures (of course) leading the pack, accompanied by impressive showings of Sharp-shins and Kestrels. Nearly 80 of the latter moved past, mostly along the cliff edge, in the first hour beyond dawn. Six Golden Eagles – most rather distant – showed up, along with two more Peregrines. Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors included: Common Loon, Canada Goose, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, American Crow, Blue Jay, American Goldfinch, European Starling, Mourning Dove, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown-headed Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, American Robin, Hermit Thrush, Purple Finch, Killdeer, Eastern Towhee, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Northern Raven (2), Tundra Swan (4), and CAVE SWALLOW (as many as 4: One positively IDed with wide base of wings, whitish belly, buff throat, and square-tipped tail). Predictions: Monday promises moderate NW winds all day with a mix of sun and cloud to start and then breaking out to more sunshine by midday. There should be a pretty good flight through the hawk watch area as the birds will be pushed a bit down towards Lake Erie. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown (thebrowns@ezlink.ca) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm More site information at hawkcount.org: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=392