Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Cameron Chevalier, Hugh Kent, Liz Kent, Mike Jaber, Paul Gosselin
Visitors: Thanks to Mike, Cameron, Paul, Hugh and Liz for helping out with the count today. We were visited by Fred from Leamington, George from Aurora and Lou & Toni from Windsor.
Weather: It was a chilly morning to start off on the tower, with the temperature sitting at 4 Degrees C and light (under 5kph) wind from the North. The wind remained out of the North/Northeast until close to 12:00, when it then shifted around to come from the South for the rest of the day. The wind was so light for the whole day that we barely felt it up on the tower. The sky was clear blue for the morning, with light clouds (under 15% cloud cover) moving in during the afternoon. The temperature rose to 15 C in the afternoon, and the pressure remained around 30.24
Raptor Observations: Once again the morning was very quiet for raptors, with single digits recorded for the first few hours. After 12:00 it picked up considerably, and for the rest of the afternoon we saw a nice, though very high and distant flight. Highlights were 8 Golden Eagles and 4 Rough-legged Hawks (all light morph). Northern Harriers (31) and Red-tailed Hawks (216) were also recorded in strong numbers. We also saw one of each of the three falcon species.
Non-raptor Observations: With the combination of very light wind and cold air, the conditions were perfect this morning for hearing flight calls of birds migrating overhead. We recorded a nice songbird flight, highlighted by; 153 Purple Finch, 18 Pine Siskins, 2 White-winged Crossbills, 49 Eastern Bluebirds, 26 American Pipits, 3 Lapland Longspur, 73 Horned Larks and 9 Yellow-rumped Warblers. The White-winged Crossbills were the first recorded at HBMO since 2012 and are quite an uncommon species in Essex County. We also saw massive numbers of American Crows migrating overhead, with 21,945 counted. Other highlights from today included; 4 Horned Grebes, 172 Rusty Blackbirds, 1 Black-bellied Plover and 1 Long-billed Dowitcher (late, and our first of the season). 80 species were observed from the tower today, quite a good tally for November. To see the full list, click this eBird link https://ebird.org/checklist/S201181666
Predictions: The wind is predicted to be out of the East all day tomorrow, with an overcast sky in the morning and likely more sun in the afternoon. The temperature should be similar to today. Winds with a North component are always more productive for our site, but we could still see a decent flight tomorrow if the weather cooperates ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
