Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch - Beamer Conservation Area Grimsby, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 11, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 17 58 58 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 3 16 16 Northern Harrier 0 2 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1 Cooper's Hawk 2 5 5 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 26 27 27 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 79 125 125 Rough-legged Hawk 2 4 4 Golden Eagle 0 1 1 American Kestrel 0 2 2 Merlin 1 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 3 4 4 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 133 246 246 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:45:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 9.75 hours Official Counter: Chris Escott Observers: Barry Cherriere, Catherine Manschot, Gianpiero Tondina Visitors: Many thanks to Barry Cherriere, Catharine Manschot and G.P. Tondina who helped spot and ID passing raptors. A school field trip also brought about 45 Grade 1 and 2 kids, with several chaperones, to Beamer from Cairn Christian School in Smithville. Split into four sub-groups, the kids were brought up the tower, each sub-group spent about 15 spotting passing birds while their fellows hiked out to the point or sat around a picnic table as they learned more about birds from their teachers. Weather: Chilly to start (-3 C) with no breeze, thick frost on the ground, and limited high cloud. As the rising sun hit the tower, the black shrouding started to steam and the wood decking cracked underfoot. Heavy cloud moved in mid-morning with a light SW breeze. Cloud cover continued for the remainder of the day, with wind shifting to SE and becoming brisk at times, and temperatures warming slightly. Raptor Observations: Good flight for a couple of hours mid-day, but very slow to start the count and slow but interesting (quality, not quantity) to end the count. Three Bald Eagles: first two were Basic 1 plumage (1-1/2 year) and the third was Basic IV (4-1/2 year). Two Rough-legged Hawk: a dark morph male cruised by beyond the escarpment (ID by scope) and a light morph female flew over the tower at the end of the day. Good numbers of Red-shouldered Hawk, and the season's first Merlin. Non-raptor Observations: Good flight of geese and swans early in the day: more than 15 flocks of Canada Goose of which three included small numbers of Cackling Goose, and three flocks of Tundra Swans totalling 100 birds. A Pileated Woodpecker flew over the tower in the morning, a Common Raven appeared to migrate along the escarpment in the afternoon, and two Caspian Tern did a fly-by. Predictions: Forecast is promising, warmer than today, more sun, fairly light NE wind. Weather radar indicates there will be no precipitation. Upstate New York count data from today was not very good, due to rain, so it remains to be seen if tomorrow's numbers can approach today's at Beamer. Summary: looks like it'll be a nice day, but may not be a great flight. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Chris Escott (chris@escott.ca) Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch - Beamer Conservation Area information may be found at: http://www.niagarapeninsulahawkwatch.org/ More site information at hawkcount.org: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=389 Site Description: Hawk migration monitoring at the Beamer Memorial Conservation Area in Grimsby, Ontario is conducted by the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch (NPH). All counting is done by volunteers. Not all members are counters nor does a counter have to be a member. Typically one person is the designated counter for each day but other observers present assist with the spotting and identification. Counting is done from a steel observation tower with a wooden floor. For wind protection on cold days, particularly in March, a black plastic wind guard is installed around the tower's platform. This platform easily accommodates ten people but on most busy days, no more than five or six observers would be on it. The site lies within a publicly accessible property owned by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. There is no charge for admittance. The tower stands in the centre of a mowed area with a gravel ring road near the outer edge. This provides lots of room to park vehicles (along the road) and set up lawn chairs, telescopes and cameras. Toilet facilities are present. During the counting season, the NPH erect a counting board to display seven day's worth of observation data for the public. The box enclosing the sign contains brochures and silhouette sheets for the public as well as bulletin boards with news and historical sighting records. Directions to site: To get to Beamer CA, take the QEW to Exit 71/72, follow Christie St./Mountain St. to the top of the escarpment, turn right on Ridge Road West, and go 1.6km to Quarry Rd. Turn right on Quarry Rd. and drive 100m to the conservation area. Parking is normally available inside the park. If parking at the entrance or on the roads, do NOT leave valuables in your car. Please note: 1) Data in this report is not official until reviewed and finalized after the end of the season. ©2020 Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch. 2) Vehicular traffic into the park is allowed, but visitors are asked to have their cars outside the gate by 3PM. If parking at the gate DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN YOUR VEHICLE!!!