Visitors: Thanks to Hugh, Liz, Mike, Michelle and Noel for keeping me company today and helping with the count. Several visitors to the conservation area stopped by and were very happy to see the pelicans through our scopes.
Weather: It started off a bit chilly today at 11 Degrees C, but warmed up to a toasty 24 C in the afternoon. The wind started off light (5-10kph) out of the Northwest, then shifted to straight West by 09:30 and eventually South/Southeast by mid afternoon. The sky was mainly clouded over starting off, changing to 30% cloud cover in the afternoon (very nice for spotting against). The barometer dropped from 29.89 to 29.77.
Raptor Observations: Fairly quiet today for raptors, though the diversity was nice with 12 species recorded. The bulk of our numbers today came from Turkey Vultures (1,056), mainly in the span of 3 hours in the afternoon. Sharp-shinned Hawks (61) and Northern Harriers (7) were in lower number today. the main highlight was our 2nd Golden Eagle of the season, a nice immature bird that passed by in the afternoon (just a bit too far for photos unfortunately). We recorded all 3 falcon species during the last two hours of the count, always a nice way to end off a day of hawkwatching.
Non-raptor Observations: Despite being quiet for raptors, it was busy on the passerine front in the morning. We counted 23,810 Blue Jays this morning, higher numbers than yesterday but still lower than the peak over a week ago. 6 woodpecker species were seen, highlighted by 18 Northern Flickers and 2 Red-headed Woodpeckers. Warblers were migrating past the tower in good number this morning, mainly Yellow-rumped (277) with smaller numbers of others such as Tennessee (5), Northern Parula (2), Palm (3) and Nashville (4). 11 warbler species total were recorded. Other notable birds today included; 72 American White Pelicans that spent the day in the marsh, our first Hooded Merganser of the season and a flyover American Golden-plover. 87 species were recorded from the tower today, for the full list click here - https://ebird.org/checklist/S198051961
Predictions: Tomorrow is meant to be slightly cooler than today, with sunny skies and wind starting off from the Northwest, then shifting West by the afternoon. If the wind stays from the North for longer, we may see a larger flight of raptors than today. If it stays true to the forecast and shifts West, we will likely see a similar flight to today. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
