Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Paul Gosselin
Observers: Chad Cornish, Daniel Lee, Erik van den Kieboom, Juliette Herdman, Karen Cedar, Karen Padbury, Kiah Jasper, Michael Arthurs, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Robin Smallwood
Visitors: Lots of visitors on the tower including Lou, Toni, Neal, Vicki, Brett, Jordan and Michael. Special thanks to today's official counter Paul, well supported by the many observers who came out today including Mike A., Daniel, Kiah, Noel, Mike J., Chad, Karen C, Karen P., Robin and Erik.
Weather: Cold frosty morning to start off Hawtoberfest today. Temps to start the day were a chilly 5C which gradually warmed to a sunny 13C in the afternoon. Light NE winds to start the day that picked up mid morning and switched to light to moderate NNE later in the afternoon.
Raptor Observations: Turkey Vultures started to move through mid morning and continued throughout the day with a total of 7756. Good numbers of Red-tailed (324) and Red-shouldered Hawks (98)going over the tower as well as 99 Sharp-shinned. Our first Golden Eagle of the day passed over the tower shortly before noon followed by several others for a total of 15 for the day!
Non-raptor Observations: American Crows took the top spot at 18350 migrating through, followed by large numbers of European Starlings (4900), Red-winged Blackbirds (2680) and Bluejays (3050). American Pelicans gave a nice show over the tower...still 130 counted in the marsh. Big numbers of ducks in the marsh today as well with 1086 Gadwall and hundreds of Mallards, Green-winged Teals, Ring-necked Ducks and American Coots. Today's ebird summary can be found at:https://ebird.org/checklist/S281564845
Predictions: Mostly sunny. High of 14C. Winds ENE at 15 to 25km/h. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dana Ogglesby (<danaogglesby...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
