Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 13:45:00 Total observation time: 6.75 hours
Official Counter: Michael Burton-Smith
Observers: Hugh Kent
Visitors: Thanks to Hugh for helping conduct today's count, and to our visitors Neil, Judy, Sandy, Joe, Steve and David who kept us company on the tower!
Weather: If this were a cricket scorecard, the headline would read "Match abandoned due to rain." What started as a very pleasant morning with a gentle southerly quickly deteriorated in the afternoon, with a scattered drizzle developing into a persistent shower.
Raptor Observations: Remarkable in their absence were Turkey Vultures - we have had over 850 on the thirtieth of September for the past three years, but with today's southerly and cloud cover there was not one.
The early morning delivered on last night's falcon forecast, with a female Merlin flying around the tower and some sensational views of Peregrines hunting over the marsh, even going after (unsuccessfully) an immature Northern Harrier.
Also notable was the unexpected departure of our local Bald Eagle pair, who took off in the late morning and flew high and west.
Not too shabby today, with eleven species of warbler around the tower in the early morning taking advantage of the cloudy conditions. Tree Swallows were in abundance over the marsh in the late afternoon, and there were also notable shifts in Red-winged Blackbird, Rusty Blackbird and European Starling. The American White Pelicans are back with 277 present, including a really spectacular flyover in the early morning.
Notable birds for the season included our second Sora for the month (heard) and our first sighting of Ring-billed Duck (12) on the marsh. The 153 species recorded by the Holiday Beach hawkwatch this September is the second highest total since we began making trip reports in 2013, behind only 2024 when 160 species where seen.
Predictions: It'll be a lacklustre start to October with poor conditions for songbird migration overnight and raptor migration tomorrow during the day. We can expect a similar turnout to today with warbler activity peaking in the early morning, and falcons and harriers standing out while the soaring raptors are grounded by the lack of thermals. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Michael Burton-Smith () Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
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