Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Alessandra Kite, Ian Woodfield, Jeremy Bensette, Juliette Herdman, Michelle Mastellotto, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Peter Veighey
Visitors: Quite a few observers came out today, despite the gloomy weather. There weren't many birds to count, but their company (and snacks!) were greatly appreciated. Thanks to Alessandra, Noel, Juliette, Mike, Peter, Michelle, Ian and Jeremy for coming out today.
This was also my last full day of counting for the season. It wasn't the sunny and birdy last day that I hoped for, but I was happy to spend it in the good company of the many new friends I've made this fall. It's been a great season and I wish the best of luck to all of the volunteers who will be finishing the last two weeks of the count.
Weather: Today was a dreary November day on the tower, with a low cloud layer that stuck around until the early afternoon. The temperature started off at 8 C and went up until 10.5 C in the afternoon. The wind started off from the WNW, then shifted NW later in morning. There was a lot of moisture in the air today, with a light fog over the lake and the pressure remained near 29.85.
Raptor Observations: We expected today to be a bit busier than it was for raptors, given we had favourable winds for most of the day. The dark sky and moisture in the air really had it's effect though. It didn't rain on the tower today, but several of our observers reported rain to our North and East on their drive in, so with that information the lack of flight made even more sense. The only migrating raptors observed today were 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 1 Northern Harrier. The local Red-tailed Hawks and Bald Eagles flew about, but never went too far.
With a total of 4 raptors today we were beat by the Detroit River Hawk Watch... who had 7. The season tally so far is 88,881 for Holiday and 78,426 for Detroit though, so we're winning in the long game : )
Non-raptor Observations: Today was quiet for non raptor movement as well. There were a number of birds around, but there wasn't much active migration today. American Goldfinches were the only species moving in numbers, with 775 counted. Singles of American Pipit, Snow Bunting, Purple Finch and Pine Siskin also passed by. Rusty Blackbirds, Winter Wrens and 5 species of sparrows (highlighted by 2 Fox Sparrows) foraged around the base of the tower all day, which gave us something to look at. 3 Great Egrets and 1 American White Pelican continue to be seen on the marsh as well, both late for this time of year. On Lake Erie lots of Red-breasted Mergansers flew back and forth, with several Horned Grebes and Common Loons mixed in with them. Our highlight bird today was a Long-tailed Duck that was seen sitting on the water on Lake Erie, the first record for HBMO and the 198th species we've recorded this fall. 60 species were observed from the tower today, for the eBird link click here - https://ebird.org/checklist/S202593991
Predictions: Tomorrow the wind is meant to start from the Northwest, then switch around to Southwest by mid morning. It will be very light (under 5kph) though so I don't expect that to impact the flight too much. The sky is meant to be mainly sunny tomorrow and the temperature around 10 degrees, so it should be a pleasant day on the tower. Hopefully there will be more birds flying! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
