Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman
Visitors: Thanks to Mike and Noel for keeping me company and helping with the count in the morning. Several school groups led by ERCA stopped by during the day, they learned about raptor migration and enjoyed seeing the pelicans in the marsh.
Weather: The temperature was 13 Degrees C to start off today rising to 20 C as the morning went on. The wind was out of the South/Southeast all day, varying between 5kph and 2kph. Overcast and spitting light rain in the morning from 07:00 until 09:00. The rest of the day was mainly cloud, with some sun shining through a light layer of high altitude clouds in the afternoon. The sky got very dark with incoming rain to the West around 14:00, and when light rain began on the lake I decided to end an hour early today. The barometer fell from 29.94 to 29.83
Raptor Observations: It was extremely slow for raptors today, with only 54 individuals observed. There was one push of Turkey Vultures (43) along the shoreline in morning, but that was it for their movement today. We also had 1 Northern Harrier, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Cooper's Hawks and 7 Sharp-shinned Hawks. The highlight bird was a Merlin, that sat on a treetop for over half an hour before continuing West.
Non-raptor Observations: The rain and South winds in the morning meant an nonexistent passerine flight, with only a few birds moving when the rain stopped later in the morning. 1 Purple Finch, 4 Pine Siskins, 510 Cedar Waxwings and 16 American Pipits were highlights. The lake was active with birds moving in the early morning, mainly Bonaparte's Gulls, Red-breasted Mergansers and scaup. The highlights for me were 2 Black Scoters, the first this season and only the 3rd eBird record for HBMO. 310 Tree Swallows foraged low overhead during the morning, very large numbers for this date. The American White Pelicans have made a bit of a comeback in numbers again, with 120 counted on the marsh today. Other highlights included; 6 Sandhill Cranes, 510 Rusty Blackbirds and a first cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull (our first of the season). 65 species were observed from the tower today, for the full list click this eBird link - https://ebird.org/checklist/S201421440
Predictions: Tomorrow looks like it'll be another poor day for weather on the tower, with strong winds from the South. There won't be rain in the way tomorrow though and it should be sunny, so hopefully there are a few more birds moving ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
