Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Cameron Chevalier, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Paul Gosselin, Peter Veighey
Visitors: Thanks to Mike, Cameron, Harrison, Noel, Paul and Peter for assisting with the count today. We were visited by Pam from Brantford, who enjoyed watching Bald Eagles migrate overhead.
Weather: Today we had a cold start on the tower, with the temperature just above 0 C. The winds were from the East/ENE/NE all morning, ranging between 5-15kph. Around 11:00 the wind picked up speed (20kph) and shifted East again, but then to the South/Southeast, where it remained for the rest of the day. The sky was was totally clear blue in the morning, then increasingly cloud cover moved in during the afternoon (max of 80%). The temperature went up to 12 C later in the day, but fell again when the clouds moved in. The barometer sat at 30.19, but dropped 4 points during the last hour of the count.
Raptor Observations: With favourable winds in the morning we had high hopes for a good flight. After a quiet first hour and a half things started to pick up a bit, then we recorded an early flying Golden Eagle at 08:40. This was the first one we've seen before 11am this season. Later in the morning we recorded 4 more goldens (all at once!) and also two Rough-legged Hawks. One of the roughies was a dark morph and flew relatively close by the tower, the first close one we've had this fall. Once the wind switched after 11:00 the flight really began to die down and move inland. After 13:00 we were only recording around 20 birds per hour, and when dark clouds rolled in near 15:00 the temperature dropped and really killed activity (leading us to end an hour early). We still recorded decent numbers today despite the conditions, including 1 Peregrine Falcon, 143 Red-tailed Hawk, 9 Bald Eagle and 18 Sharp-shinned Hawk. The 9 Northern Harriers recorded today pushed us over 1,000 total for the season, a good count and not something that happens annually here.
Non-raptor Observations: The songbird flight today was quieter than the past several days, though there was still decent diversity. Highlights included; 175 American Pipit, 2 Lapland Longspur, 5 White-winged Crossbill, 11 Pine Siskin and 47 Eastern Bluebird. 12 Snow Buntings were a nice treat, our first recorded this season. American White Pelican and Great Egret numbers have really dropped off, with 2 and 5 individuals spotted respectively. At one point in the morning all the ducks were flushed over the marsh, allowing us to see how many are really out there. We estimated over 8,000 birds, comprised mainly of Ring-necked Duck, Gadwall and Mallard. Other highlights today included; American Woodcock, Great Horned Owl and Lesser Black-backed Gull. For the 3rd day in a row we recorded 76 species total, and also 66 non migrating raptors... Despite the days being quite different overall! HBMO eBird list here https://ebird.org/checklist/S201939397
Predictions: The forecast for tomorrow looks bleak... very bleak. There is meant to be considerable rain in the morning, possibly lasting into the afternoon as well. Rain aside the wind is from the South all day, which isn't good for raptor flight. We don't expect large numbers, but you never know what could happen if it clears up. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
