Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Mike Jaber
Visitors: Thanks to Mike for joining me for a few hours in the morning. Besides Mike I didn't see a single person on the tower today, so it was a quieter day than normal up there (probably the quietest this fall).
Weather: Today was a bit strange on the weather front, it just kept switching between different conditions. When I arrived at the site there was a light drizzle in the air, it was 11 C and 100% cloud cover. The drizzle was on and off for the next three hours, sometimes getting a bit stronger so I had to put the camera/data sheets back in the car. After 12:30 a patch of blue sky appeared to the west, which then turned into 50% cloud cover and a lovely day to be on the tower. by 14:00 the sky was almost totally clear... But then a fast moving and dark layer of clouds moved in from the southwest and by 15:20 it was dark and cloudy again, with a light mist over the lake. The only consistent things about the day were the South/Southwest winds (10kph or less). The barometer dropped to 29.83. I included some photos of the sky on the eBird list... for those interested.
Raptor Observations: Considering the poor conditions for the majority of the day, I recorded a surprising amount of raptors (1,193). In the morning we saw a nice push of Northern Harriers, including 4 in one group. Harriers never seem to mind flying in a light rain. In the afternoon I enjoyed two hours of distant raptor flight over the treeline by the far side of the marsh, mainly Sharp-shinned Hawks (77) and Turkey Vultures (1,061). In the mid afternoon a passing Cooper's Hawk caught a Northern Flicker after a dramatic chase. Highlights today were 2 Merlin and the nice numbers of Northern Harrier (29).
Non-raptor Observations: The rain put a damper on the morning songbird flight, so we recorded less species than normal today. Sparrow diversity was very good around the base of the tower today though, with 8 species recorded (highlighted by our first Fox Sparrow of the season). The American White Pelicans were less plentiful today (290), though the larger numbers could be foraging somewhere nearby. 380 Rusty Blackbirds foraged in the marsh beside the tower in the morning, the largest numbers we've seen this fall. Other highlights from today included; 1 Orange-crowned Warbler, 1 Blackpoll Warbler, 3 Common Loons, 9 Sandhill Cranes and 280 Tree Swallows. 74 species were recorded from the tower today. For the full list click this eBird link -https://ebird.org/checklist/S200236431
Predictions: Tomorrow looks like quite a promising day... Mainly sunny, a light Northwest wind and cooler temperatures. It should be a good day on the tower, with a decent chance of northern species such as Golden Eagle and Rough-legged Hawk ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
