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, Juliette Herdman, Liz Kent, Matt Brannagan, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Wade Carlton
Visitors: Thanks to Mike, Noel, Juliette, Wade, Hugh, Liz and Matt for helping conduct today's count. We had a good number of visitors on the tower today and a lot of great conversations (very much so compensating for the lack of raptors), with a special thanks to Rachael, Adriana, Judy, Steve, David, Neil, Collin and Brandon for spending some time with us, and to Chip and Bob who each brought up a harrier to wow the group!
Weather: Clear skies and only a very gentle breeze predominantly from the south. Temperatures rose to the mid-twenties but with the lack of wind and cloud cover it felt pretty hostile in the mid-afternoon!
Raptor Observations: A very quiet day today, with two hours in the afternoon where no raptors were recorded. Sharp-shinned Hawks have been surprisingly thin on the ground over the past two days, with just 44 seen today, mostly in the morning.
As forecast there was a small fall of warblers overnight, with six species observed today including our first Palm Warbler for the season. Yellow-rumped Warblers and White-throated Sparrows are both increasing in numbers and activity around the tower. The big story of the day was a large mixed flock of Bonapartes and Ring-billed Gull feeding over the marsh in the afternoon. The count of 149 Ring-billed Gulls is the highest total recorded by HBMO in September on record, while the 102 Bonaparte's Gull is the fourth highest September total for this species. Interestingly, all of the top four September counts for Bonaparte's Gull have been in the last two years.
In the morning we were also entertained by two very enthusiastic beavers, whose thundering tail slaps were met with the question, "Is that a whale?"
Predictions: Tomorrow will likely be a fairly slow day, with poor overnight conditions for songbird migration and then pretty hostile weather for raptor migration during the day with overcast skies and southerly winds increasing. Hopefully the gray skies and cooler temperatures will at least keep the small birds active around the tower, and maybe bring in a Merlin or two in the early morning! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Michael Burton-Smith () Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
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