Holiday Beach Hawk Watch Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 881 1866 3970 Osprey 0 1 6 Bald Eagle 0 3 36 Northern Harrier 17 60 270 Sharp-shinned Hawk 234 1058 5007 Cooper's Hawk 8 30 102 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 4 5 Broad-winged Hawk 22 49 45222 Red-tailed Hawk 9 34 218 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 106 325 1537 Merlin 2 14 117 Peregrine Falcon 0 3 59 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 1282 3447 56552 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Maryse Gagné Observers: Michael Arthurs 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: A gorgeous Saturday for hawk watching today! The day started with lower temperatures, 8 deg Celsius but warmed quickly. Only a few clouds in the morning which produced great thermals for the raptors to ride as they moved West. The winds were favourable in the morning, blowing from the North-West for a few hours. Eventually, the winds shifted to the West, then the South, and clouds covered the entire sky for the rest of the day. Raptor Observations: A very successful morning, with an overall steady stream of raptors all day. Within a few hours, Turkey Vultures were up and forming kettles close to the tower. In total, we counted 881 TVs. Among the kettles, we managed to spot 22 Broad-winged Hawks, 9 Red-tailed Hawks, and 3 incredibly gorgeous Red-shouldered Hawks. As is customary, 234 Sharp-shinned Hawks flew over us, as well as 106 American Kestrels, with a majority of them flying in the afternoon. Lastly, 8 Cooper's Hawks, 2 Merlins, and 17 Northern Harriers made their way across the marsh. Non-raptor Observations: A spectacular day for Blue Jays with 72,390 individuals counted! Most of the migrants were seen within the first 3-4 hours but kept trickling in throughout the day. Woodpeckers were in abundance today with 50 Northern Flickers migrating over the tower. We also spotted Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. In the early morning and late afternoon, we had small flurries of songbird including Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Blue-headed Vireos, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Nashville Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Wilson's Warbler! We also saw our first Dark-eyed Junco of the season, so take out your tuques folks, winter is coming. The marsh continues to look similar but as the vegetation dies down, more species and elevated numbers are appearing, such as Wigeons and Gadwalls. Full ebird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74380102 Predictions: Pack a rain coat, because tomorrow may be a bust. Rain is expected to fall all day with winds from the South-West and West. We may see a few Northern Harriers, as they are known for still flying in unfavourable conditions, and a few Sharp-shinned Hawks and Kestrels if it's not raining too hard. Let's wish our counters good luck! ======================================================================== 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