Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 24, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 0 1009 52469 Osprey 0 0 9 Bald Eagle 0 25 84 Northern Harrier 1 126 732 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 141 8121 Cooper's Hawk 1 59 324 Northern Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 210 748 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 45368 Red-tailed Hawk 11 2131 4861 Rough-legged Hawk 0 21 28 Golden Eagle 0 27 36 American Kestrel 0 5 1934 Merlin 0 5 162 Peregrine Falcon 0 7 119 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: 14 3767 115002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Maryse Gagné Observers: 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: Frosty and gray today. Cold start at -1 degree Celsius with just a slight warming throughout the day. Thick clouds covered the entire sky, not letting even a single ray of sun peak through. The winds were slight, first blowing from the North-East in the morning, then shifting to the South-East. The rain held up until 3 o'clock, by which time most birds had stopped moving and the count was cut short. Raptor Observations: Only 14 raptors graced us with their presence today, but these were very important hawks as they managed to push our season's total count over of the 115,000 mark! According to our records, this would put 2020 in 4th place for the most raptors counted in a season. We would need an additional 284 hawks to claim the third place. With only a week left, it is unlikely to happen. Today's hawks included 11 Red-tailed Hawks, a Cooper's Hawk, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and a Northern Harriers. Most came between 11 and 1 o'clock, the other hours were very quiet. Non-raptor Observations: American Goldfinches and Common Redpolls were the most abundant non-raptor migrants today. At the base of the tower, a fun mix of Chickadees, Cardinals, Brown Creepers, Downy Woodpeckers, and Carolina Wrens could be seen chasing each other round and round the tower. The Downy Woodpeckers have also discovered our wooden sign in front of the tower and pecked at it for a few minutes. On the marsh, Northern Shovelers and American Black Ducks are mildly abundant, while Ring-necked Ducks have dwindled in numbers. Full eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S76648150 Predictions: Tomorrow will be wet and mostly likely cold. The temperature is supposed to reach 8 degrees, but with the rain I'm sure the chill will reach the bone. The winds will be coming from the South. Signs are pointing to a very slow day, but hopefully a few hawks will attempt a flight. ======================================================================== 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: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=100