Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Hugh Kent, Jeremy Bensette, Juliette Herdman, Karen Padbury, Kit McCann, Liz Kent, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Peter Veighey
Visitors: It was a busy day for visitors on the tower, which always helps with spotting and the comradery is nice : ) Thanks to Mike, Peter, Noel, Julliete, Hugh, Liz, Karen, Kit and Jeremy for helping with the count today. We were visited by Mike and Gaia from Ann Arbor, Michigan as well as Walter from Tecumseh. Mike from Amherstburg joined us in the morning as well.
Weather: The morning started off with a classic early October feel to it, light Northwest wind, a mainly sunny sky and 11 degrees C. The wind shifted to WNW, W, WSW and ESE (it just couldn't make up it's mind!) throughout the day, gusting up to 30kph but mainly staying around 15kph. The temperature topped out around 20 degrees C, though the wind made it feel colder. The sky remained mainly clear of clouds, and the barometer changed between 29.91 and 29.88.
Raptor Observations: Our busiest day of the season so far for raptor numbers, with 3,766 recorded. This was mainly due to a large movement of Turkey Vultures (3551) in the afternoon, the high flight lines of them keeping us on our toes! Besides the TVs it was a rather low day for raptor numbers, the only other species making it into triple digits being Sharp-shinned Hawk (137). We also had decent numbers of Bald Eagles migrating by, with 14 recorded. 2 Merlin and 2 Peregrine Falcons were highlights.
Non-raptor Observations: Quieter than yesterday on passerine front, especially for warblers and Blue Jays (only 7,350 today vs over 23,000 yesterday). We recorded 321 American Goldfinches and 102 Yellow-rumped Warblers flying over though, so there was some activity. Our first Pine Siskin of the season flew over, and our first Field Sparrow was seen foraging below the tower. The highlight today was American White Pelicans though, in numbers we haven't recorded before on the count. It started off with the 72 from yesterday, then more and more small flocks started joining them, finally totaling at least 228 birds. It was fun watching them kettle overhead with Turkey Vultures all afternoon. 83 species were recorded from the tower today, for the full list click here - https://ebird.org/checklist/S198160451
Predictions: Tomorrow is meant to be a cool (high of 16) and sunny day, with very light winds. The wind is allegedly coming from the North in the morning, switching to the South later in the afternoon. Winds aloft (800m) are meant to be from the North all day. It should be a fun day on the tower! As of right now Friday looks to have stronger Southwest winds, so I tomorrow should be the better day. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
