Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Mike Jaber, Robin Smallwood
Visitors: Thanks to Mike and Robin for helping out with the count today. Robyn from Alberta visited again today, assisting with the count for most of the morning.
Weather: Unlike the previous few days, the wind started out from the Southwest this morning, brining a damp chill off of Lake Erie. The temperature started off above the freezing mark at 3C today, rising to 8C by the afternoon. The wind was gusty from the Southwest all morning, well over 30kph at times. By the early afternoon it shifted to the West and continued to pick up speed. Dark clouds persisted for most of the morning, then after 11:30 the sky began gradually clearing, ending up around 60% cloud cover. The barometer rose slightly during the day. The flightline almost died completely in the afternoon (likely due to the increase of wind), so we ended the count at 2pm today.
Raptor Observations: Only 27 birds were observed today, with multiple hours passing duirng which we saw 1, or even 0 raptors. Despite the low bird total, species diversity was quite high. 10 different raptors were observed, highlighted by an adult Peregrine Falcon, a light morph Rough-legged Hawk and 2 Golden Eagles. One of the goldens passed by fairly close to the North in the morning, it's always nice to get good views of these magnificent raptors.
Non-raptor Observations: The high winds from the Southwest today led to lower totals for all migrating birds. Lake Erie was extremely quiet, with no major activity besides Red-breasted Mergansers. Morning songbird flight was also very reduced, Horned Lark (271), American Goldfinch (178) and Cedar Waxwing (209) were the only species moving in decent numbers. Overhead large flocks of Tundra Swans (252) were moving south, our largest movement of the season so far. American Herring Gulls (259) were moving along the shoreline in good numbers today. Mixed in with them were 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull and 1 Great Black-black Backed Gull (first of season). 5 gull species from the tower today! Just after we arrived in the morning an American Golden-Plover flew over the tower, quite late for this time of year. On the marsh there were no Great Egrets present for the first day since the count started this fall, and the American White Pelicans seem to have moved on. 30 Tree Swallows continue to linger late into the month, they seem happier with the higher temperature today. A male Common Yellowthroat was seen briefly at base of the tower, another late bird for November. 73 species were observed from the tower today, for the full list click this eBird link - https://ebird.org/checklist/S284181037
Predictions: Tomorrow is meant to be sunny all day, with a high of 8C and lighter wind. The wind is meant to be from the West, losing it's annoying southern component. Hopefully these factors will encourage more birds to move. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
