Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Hugh Kent, Juliette Herdman, Liz Kent, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Peter Veighey
Visitors: Thanks to Hugh, Liz, Peter, Mike, Juliette and Noel for assisting with the count today. We were visited by Brian and Fran from Kingsville, Jodie from Guelph, Justin from Windsor, Karen from Windsor, Rob and Sherly from Michigan.
Weather: Starting off at 4 Degrees C, it rose to 15 C later in the afternoon. The sky remained clear throughout the day, with less haze than previous days. The wind started off from the North, but shifted NW and then West by 10:00, eventually turning to South in the afternoon (very light all day, but almost dying completely in the afternoon). The barometer remained around 30.01
Raptor Observations: Better than the last several days for raptors, with 2,864 individuals of 12 species recorded. There was hardly any activity in the morning, but things picked up significantly after 13:00 and in the afternoon we saw a nice, but often very distant flight. The bulk of the birds were Turkey Vultures, with 2,668 recorded. We also saw a decent number of Red-tailed Hawks (92), Northern Harriers (18) and Sharp-shinned Hawks (56). The highlights today were 5 Golden Eagles and 5 Rough-legged Hawks, including two roughies that flew right over the tower together near the end of the day.
Non-raptor Observations: The American White Pelicans continue out in the marsh for another day, with a minimum of 510 counted. There was a decent visible migration of passerines in the morning, highlighted by; 46 Purple Finch, 458 American Goldfinch, 2 Pine Siskin, 5,260 Red-winged Blackbird, 35 Rusty Blackbird and a late-for-season Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher. Waterfowl continue to be seen in the marsh, as well as lots of Pied-billed Grebes and American Coot. A lone Savannah Sparrow at the base of the tower was our first of the season. Other highlights today included; 1 Philadelphia Vireo, 2 Blackpoll Warblers and 2 Sandhill Cranes. 80 species were recorded from the tower today, for the full eBird list click here - https://ebird.org/checklist/S200141166
Predictions: Tomorrow is meant to be another cool day, but with wind from the south all day. There is also meant to be more cloud cover and a chance of rain (but not too high). As of right now Saturday looks to be a much better day for our site, with North wind and clear skies. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
