Visitors: Thanks to Alessandra, Cameron, Noel, Michelle and Robin for helping with the count today. It was nice to have so many observers on the tower for a change! We were visited by two keen school groups brought in by ERCA, who enjoyed watching the pelicans and Bald Eagles.
Weather: Today was a nice relief from the strong West/Southwest wind of the previous three days. The morning started off at a cool 3 degrees C with very light (under 10kph) wind from the Northwest. The calm, cool conditions were excellent for hearing the flight calls of migrating songbirds, which led to higher detections in the morning. Unfortunately for our raptor count today the wind didn't retain a Northerly component, shifting to the WSW around 11:30, then due south during the afternoon. Another issue was the wind throughout the greater Lake Erie region was predominantly from the West, which doesn't funnel birds down towards us. The sky was clear blue all morning (with a gorgeous full moon), then high level cirrus clouds began to appear in the early afternoon. This was followed by a lower layer of darker clouds and an increase of humidity, which certainly didn't help the raptor flight.
Raptor Observations: Compared to the past few days, today it was very active! 132 birds were recorded, with Turkey Vultures taking their rightful spot as the most abundant species (66). 2 Peregrine Falcons and a light morph Rough-legged Hawk were other highlights. The flight line was mainly far inland today, making spotting birds a bit more difficult.
Non-raptor Observations: It was definitely the best day of November for species diversity so far! We recorded a good flight of songbirds in the morning, with strong numbers of the following species; American Crow (1,114), Eastern Bluebird (61), Horned Lark (254), American Pipit (46), Purple Finch (102) and American Goldfinch (675). Highlights were 1 Red-headed Woodpecker (quite late), 2 Snow Bunting (our first of the season), 1 Lapland Longspur and a close flyby 3 Evening Grosbeaks. A male Pine Warbler perched beside the tower briefly, another late species for the date. On the lake 3 Horned Grebes were seen, as well as our first Redhead of the season. On the marsh 150 American White Pelicans were spotted and the Common Gallinule continues to linger. The ibis story continued today. I was losing hope of seeing the bird from November 4th again, but at 07:48 it flew right by the tower! This was a much closer view than the last observation and allowed for photos to be taken (see the checklist). The photos show that the Ibis is a Glossy Ibis, the 3rd record for HBMO and the first since 2013. In North America Glossy Ibis breeds along the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida, and is a vagrant to the Great Lakes region.
86 species were recorded on the tower today, quite a good total for this late in the fall. The list can be viewed at the eBird link below - https://ebird.org/checklist/S283201013
Predictions: Another low pressure system is moving in tomorrow, bringing strong southerly winds and rain. It will likely be a very poor day on the tower. Saturday is looking very good at the moment though, with light north winds all day and sun! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
