Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Michael Burton-Smith
Observers: Hugh Kent, Jeremy Bensette, Karen Padbury, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Peter Veighey, Robin Smallwood, Wade Carlton
Visitors: Thanks to Wade, Mike, Noel, Karen, Peter, Hugh, Jeremy and Robin for their assistance with today's count, with special mentions to Jeremy for identifying the Common Raven and Mike for his sensational lantern-fly-catching reflexes. It was lovely to be joined by Kit, Neil, Margaret, Josh, Kim and Jeff who brought some great conversation and keen eyes across the day.
Weather: Very comfortable conditions with clear skies, temperatures in the mid-twenties and a gentle northerly breeze through the day.
Raptor Observations: It was a brilliant beginning to the day with an adult and a juvenile Peregrine making several rounds of the tower (less wonderful for the Blue Jays, Red-winged Blackbirds and waterfowl). Things were otherwise pretty slow, with a few nice kettles of Turkey Vulture in the mid-afternoon and moderate movements of Sharp-shinned Hawks and American Kestrels.
To say we had nothing all day would be an overstatement, but only a very small one. It was a very quiet day with most of the big ticket items from the past week either not showing well, in reduced numbers, or completely absent. Pelicans and Blue Jays are both well down from their peaks late last week, and warblers and sparrows thin on the ground.
However, there were two very notable entries for the day list. The first came in the form of a very strange, all dark raptor that had us scratching heads... Wait! Not a raptor - a Common Raven! This is just the seventh seen by HBMO, and the first September record for this species at Holiday Beach. There were also two sightings of the highly invasive Spotted Lantern Fly, including one which was successfully (and quite incredibly) caught by Mike J and killed. Both individuals have been reported to the CFIA.
Predictions: Hopefully the gentle northerly and clear skies after midnight will bring in some new songbirds, with the cool morning forecast ideal for spotting sparrows and warblers. We should (fingers crossed) see Orange-crowned Warblers arriving soon. For raptors it will most likely be similar to today, with low numbers of most species in the morning and Turkey Vultures taking advantage of the clear skies in the mid-afternoon. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Michael Burton-Smith () Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
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