Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Hugh Kent, Michael Arthurs
Observers: Hugh Kent, Liz Kent, Michael Arthurs, Michael St. Pierre, Mike Jaber
Visitors: Thanks to Michael for taking over as Official Counter in the afternoon and for Liz, Mike J and Mike StP for helping. It was good to meet Hannah from Iowa, who was visiting to add a few species to her Ontario List. We were also visited by a group of stalwart walkers from Harrow.
Weather: The rain arrived early morning and continued to mid afternoon. The wind was moderate from the south east. Visibility was very low until the rain stopped and then increased to about 15km. The temperature remained in the low teens all day. Pressure remained low at about the same level all day. The skies cleared slightly after mid afternoon.
Raptor Observations: Understandably, with the rain there was only a few raptors seen. At least we saw a few - two Merlin, two Northern Harriers, two Sharp-shinned Hawks and a single Cooper's Hawk that dived after something in the Willow tree but was unsuccessful.
Non-raptor Observations: The visibility and rain limited the list, but there was good sparrow, Rusty Blackbird and Wren activity around the Tower. There was also a limited fly over in the hours before the rain arrived with American Goldfinch (71), Horned Lark (8), American Pipit (2) and Eastern Bluebird (2). The list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S203048899
Predictions: The forecast looks as though we might have a dry(ish) morning with rain arriving just after midday. The slight wind initially from the west will turn south and then increase as the rain arrives. Temperature will be much the same as today in the low teens. We don't expect many raptors but we may see a few in the morning. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Hugh Kent (<Hughnkent...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
