Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 13, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 72 947 52407 Osprey 0 0 9 Bald Eagle 0 17 76 Northern Harrier 7 97 703 Sharp-shinned Hawk 12 127 8107 Cooper's Hawk 6 42 307 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 6 133 671 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 45368 Red-tailed Hawk 99 1443 4173 Rough-legged Hawk 0 15 22 Golden Eagle 1 19 28 American Kestrel 0 4 1933 Merlin 0 3 160 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 116 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: 203 2851 114086 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:15:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8.75 hours Official Counter: Maryse Gagné Observers: Elizabeth Kent, Hugh Kent, Kory Renaud 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: Quite the cool wind today, blowing strongly from the West. Along with it came a thick cloud cover, which stayed put most of the morning. As the afternoon rolled around and we pulled our hoods tighter around our heads, sun pierced through the clouds warming the air as well as our cold faces. Eventually, as wind died down slightly and some of the clouds disappeared, hawks took the opportunity to fly quite high. Raptor Observations: There was doubt in the air during the first few hours, as very few raptors flew by. Thankfully, Red-tailed Hawks got their act together in the afternoon and 99 individuals migrated over our marsh at insane heights. A batch of 70 Turkey Vultures also made their way over us during the last 30 minutes of count, helping to bring up today's daily total. Of course we cannot forget the 7 Northern Harriers, 12 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 6 Cooper's Hawks, and 6 Red-shouldered Hawks also counted today. Lastly, 1 Golden Eagle tried to sneak past us by flying low over the trees and doing it's best Turkey Vulture impression, but no bird can get past our scopes! Non-raptor Observations: Today's highlight: Common Redpolls! To make this observation even better, two birds from the flock landed on the tower, I was ecstatic! Other finches such as American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins are still coming through during the day, but in fewer numbers. A few more sparrows at the bottom of the tower including American Tree Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows. Great Egrets are still spotted on the marsh along with usual thousands of ducks. Full eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S76209888 Predictions: Brisk start tomorrow with morning temperatures below 0 deg Celsius. Luckily, the sun is predicted to shine brightly all day long. However, the wind will come from the South , which may keep migrating hawks away from the tower. Let's hope that the thermals created by the sun will encourage migration even if the winds may seem unfavorable. Cross your fingers for more Red-tails and Roughies! ======================================================================== 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