Observation start time: 07:15:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 8.25 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Robin Smallwood
Visitors: Thanks to Noel, Mike and Robin for assisting with the count today. Not many park visitors braved the cold temperatures today.
Weather: We received an early taste of winter today at Holiday Beach. It was one of those scrape the ice off the windshield of the car/frozen doorhandle mornings, with a brisk northern chill in the air. Arriving at the tower at 07:15, I was greeted with the lowest start temperature of the season, -3C with a windchill of -9C. A thin layer of snow covered the ground, as well as the railings and floor of the hawk tower. The small pond behind the tower was frozen this morning, as were isolated corners of the marsh . The wind remained out of the Northwest/WNW for the entire day, ranging from 15-30kph, but dying off slightly in the afternoon. It was a gorgeous morning to be on the tower, with the western side of the marsh lighting up a wonderful golden colour during sunrise, with contrasting dark snow clouds in the background. The sky remained mostly blue throughout the morning, fluffy cumulus clouds beginning to trickle in around 11:30. Towards the end of the count the cloud cover grew thicker, taking away the warm sunlight. The temperature never went above the freezing mark during the day. The barometer attempted to rise slightly during the morning, but returned back to its starting point of 30.06 in the afternoon.
Raptor Observations: 387 migrating raptors were observed today. Not a bad total for the date, though given the conditions I did have hopes for a slightly larger flight. The flightline was also far inland for most of the day, a bit unexpected given the strong north component to the wind. Turkey Vulture took the top spot at 167, followed by Red-tailed Hawk at 125. The vultures won't retain the #1 spot for many more days this season. 1 Golden Eagle was seen midday, a nice adult that gave us good (but distant) scope views. 17 Bald Eagles and 17 Northern Harriers were seen today, including a few grey ghosts. All three falcon species were seen for the first time in a while, a nice treat late in the season. 5 Rough-legged Hawks were seen today, including two lovely dark morphs. One of the dark morphs came close to the tower early in the morning, the highlight of the day.
Non-raptor Observations: Despite the cold temperatures and strong wind, 80 species were observed from the tower today! The morning songbird flight was quite active, with some highlights including; American Crow (3,980), Horned Lark (351), American Robin (1,100), Cedar Waxwing (162), American Pipit (118), American Goldfinch (527),Lapland Longspur (1) and Snow Bunting (38). Tundra Swans have started to move over in larger numbers. with 128 seen today. A group of 13 Sandhill Cranes moving West was our largest of the season. 16 late season Tree Swallows were observed over the marsh, definitely not enjoying the cold weather. Only 1 American White Pelican was observed today, and the Great Egrets have dwindled down to 12. The Common Gallinule was absent for the first day since late October. On the Lake Bufflehead and Canvasback are on the increase, with more being seen each day. Click this link for the full eBird list - https://ebird.org/checklist/S283929592
Predictions: Tomorrow will be marginally warmer, but mainly overcast with wind from the West/Southwest. This will likely lead to much lower raptor numbers at the count, though finch movement could be alright. Currently there is no more North wind in the forecast this week : ( ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
