Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper, Paul Gosselin
Observers: Corinne Allsop, Ian Woodfield, Kiah Jasper, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Paul Gosselin
Visitors: Thanks to Corinne, Ian, Noel and Mike for helping with the count today. Paul was the official counter today, with Kiah covering the first hour of the count and then assisting for the rest of the day. It was meant to be a day off for Kiah, but he has trouble leaving the tower when there is a North wind : )
Weather: One of the first days this month that had a real "November feel" to it. Dark grey skies, light north winds and a chill in the air. The temperature remained steady at 5C for the entire day, with the wind chill making it feel a bit colder. The first few hours of the count we were plagued by dark clouds moving in off the lake, occasionally sprinkling us with a few drops of rain. The sky gradually got lighter later in the day, but still remained very dark and dreary. The wind also died down in the afternoon to a measily 5kph. The pressure remained near 29.78.
Raptor Observations: 176 raptors were observed today. This was less than we were hoping for with a North wind day, though the dark sky and periods of drizzle may have had something to do with that. The wind was also very light, which led to the flight line being far to the north inland. The day started off very promising with a close Golden Eagle at 8am, but then quieted down the next next few hours. Early morning goldens are very rare here, they usually don't start appearing until after 11am. The 12 - 1pm window turned out to be "golden hour" with 7 birds recorded. We ended the day with a total of 11 Golden Eagles, definitely the highlight of a dark and gloomy day! Northern Harriers also moved through in good numbers, with 31 recorded.
Non-raptor Observations: It was a productive day for birding on the tower, with some first of season sightings and strong numbers. The Glossy Ibis made another pass of the marsh just after 7am today, then disappeared to the East and was not seen again. The morning songbird flight was very active, with notable numbers including; American Goldfinch (2,636), Purple Finch (58), American Pipit (794), Horned Lark (355), American Robin (580), Red-winged Blackbird (11,500) , Common Grackle (5,500) Lapland Longspur (4) and Snow Bunting (28). The blackbird flight was the largest we have had so far this season, as these species begins a mass exodus of the region due to the cold weather. On the lake we observer 8 Horned Grebe, 5 Common Loon, 5 Ruddy Duck (first of season) and 4 Common Goldeneye (first of season). A solo White-winged Scoter flew past, our first of 2025 and only the 6th record for HBMO. After remarking on the lack of Tundra Swans, several flocks obliged us with flybys, another first of the fall season. On the marsh duck numbers continue to grow, with thousands of dabbling ducks present every day. 389 American White Pelicans were seen today, more than we've had here for the last two weeks. 80 Tree Swallows were seen flying over the marsh, though despite intense watching no Cave Swallows were seen among them. 80 species were seen from the tower today, full list on eBird - https://ebird.org/checklist/S283574913
Predictions: Tomorrow looks like it might be quite miserable on the tower. Temperatures near the freezing mark, strong North wind and a high chance of rain/snow all day. It is unlikely the count will be conducted all day, and it may even be a write off of a day. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
