Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Michael Burton-Smith
Observers: Hugh Kent, Kiah Jasper, Liz Kent, Michael St. Pierre, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman, Robin Smallwood
Visitors: Thanks to Kiah, Mike, Noel, Michael, Hugh, Liz and Robin for you help in conducting the day's count, and to Zach from Wisconsin who spent the afternoon with us on the tower. Thanks to fortuitous miscommunication, I was delighted to be triple parked with hot chocolate from both Mike and Noel on top of my morning cup from Timmie's.
Weather: If anyone hasn't seen Derry Girls, I highly recommend Uncle Colm's best bits on Youtube. This morning, as he would say, "the wind was fierce." Our highest recorded gust from the tower was in excess of 39 kilometres per hour, ripping through our protective layers and rattling our ribs. Things eased up as the day went on, with a minor northerly component to the westerly wind and temperatures edging towards ten degrees in the afternoon.
Raptor Observations: I had almost forgotten this was a hawk watch after a week completely dominated by empty skies. It turns out breaking the all time raptor total with a month to go may not be a good thing, as it has made the past week of southerly winds feel comparatively hellish! However, today that all changed, with the west-northwest wind just north enough to bring in a few good kettles.
We started with a bang with a close Rough-legged Hawk, two Peregrine Falcon flying together and a stratospheric Bald Eagle, but as the day progressed it was dominated by Red-tailed Hawk streams peppered with the odd Shoulder, and surprising late kettles of Turkey Vulture. The cause of their delayed arrival could be down to poor leadership from Vulture #1, who despite having a clear view of the Detroit River seemed determined to lead his troops bravely in the wrong direction towards Pelee.
For those who don't know, I've been having a run of bad luck with sparrows this fall. A Clay-colored Sparrow showed up on my day off, and lifer Fox and American Tree Sparrows have been determined (perhaps because of strong union representation) to only be available on weekends. So when Kiah told me this morning that he'd seen a Tree Sparrow but couldn't refind it, I was tempted to throw his scope off the tower. For two hours I peered endlessly through the reeds until, at long last, just before I hung up my binoculars for good, a little sparrow popped out of the undergrowth. I have to concede, the American Tree Sparrow was worth waiting for, and way better than those overhyped Fox Sparrows (who would even want to see one of those anyway).
We had a few non-sparrow related highlights, including an unexpected southward movement of 435 Double-crested Cormorant, a large group of 48 Bonaparte's Gull on the marsh, a very inquisitive Greater Yellowlegs who came to say hello, and an astonishing late movement of 81 Dunlin flying west along the shoreline. For me, however, there was no sweeter sight than Peter Cottontail and Problem the Squirrel reconciling their differences to share a pile of cracked corn.
Predictions: With any luck, the north winds will continue into tomorrow and we will have another great day, with plenty of Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawk still unaccounted for. Keep an eye out for Jaron from the weekend team, who will undoubtedly contribute to a little spike in our Pied-billed Grebe count. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Michael Burton-Smith () Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
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