Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 13:30:00 Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Kiah Jasper
Observers: Michelle Mastellotto, Mike Jaber, Noel Herdman
Visitors: Thanks to Noel, Mike and Bryce for keeping me company and helping out with the count today. Michelle popped by briefly in the afternoon as well.
I would like to say thank-you to all of the wonderful volunteers who have joined me on the tower this month, sharing snacks, laughter and comradery.
Weather: The change of the season was in the air today. The forests surrounding the marsh are grey and leafless, the vegetation in the marsh has died off and the majority of water in the marsh froze overnight. The small pond behind the tower is totally coated in ice, small lines of fallen snow being blown across it in mesmerizing waves. The winter season has arrived in Essex County, don't be fooled by the lack of snow on the ground or reindeer in the air. Since today was my last of the season as official counter, I arrived at the tower before dawn to soak in my last sunrise over the marsh of 2025. The sky was a lovely gradient from dark blue to light pink, thin lines of dark clouds with their edges illuminated in gold. Yeah, it's hard to beat a nice sunrise. The start temperature of -3 (feel of -9) gave further hints that December is near. We have been tormented by strong winds for the last several days, and today we were given a bit of relief from that, albeit the relief was small. The wind was from the West all day at 15-30kph, sometimes gusting over the 40kph mark. The West wind made a feeble, frankly pathetic attempt to shift to the WNW, always bouncing back after a few minutes. The sky started off clear with the exception of some dark dramatic clouds over the lake to the East, then gradually cumulus clouds moved in during the morning. For the next few hours it was a perfect hawkwatching sky with contrasting patches of blue and white, though the lack of raptors made it somewhat less enjoyable. After 11:00 the sky took on a more ominous vibe, dark clouds moving in from the West, choking out the remaining blue. Isolated bands of snow could occasionally be seen to the North, though we only got a few flakes on the tower. The temperature never made it past the freezing mark, and dropped in the afternoon when the dark clouds rolled in. The pressure gained several points today, ending near 30.26.
Raptor Observations: Well I had hoped for a more spectacular last day, I was very happy not to be shut out with another 0 day. The first bird of the day was a Golden Eagle, something that basically never happens. It was a lovely subadult too, with contrasting white wing flashes and a golden carpal bar on the upperwings. Another Golden Eagle later in the morning gave us only brief views before dipping below the trees. But hey, we will take it. It was a slow and steady kind of day, with 1-4 birds during most of the hours. Turkey Vultures wanted to have one more day at the top spot, with 4 individuals seen. Red-tailed Hawks, confused by their loss to TVs came in a three-way tie for 2nd place, joined by Northern Harrier and Bald Eagle at 3 each. 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk and 1 Cooper's Hawk added some diversity today.
Non-raptor Observations: The morning songbird flight was more active today than it has been all week, with steady numbers of American Goldfinch (1,617) passing by during the morning. Other highlights included; Yellow-rumped Warbler (2), Purple Finch (4), Cedar Waxwing (36), Horned Lark (126), American Pipit (1) and American Robin (45). This November has been a record shattering one for American Goldfinch, with 35,342 recorded. This one-month total is well higher than the season total for any other year, and brings our season total over 45,000. The cause for this is thought to be the complete collapse of the birch crop across the eastern Boreal forest. On the lake today there was a strong movement of scaup and Canvasback moving West, with over 4000 recorded. Smaller numbers of Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and Red-breasted Merganser flew past along shore. Killdeer (3) linger on the shoreline, likely contemplating life choices. Since the marsh is close to 90% frozen over, the dabbling ducks have been concentrated in large clusters around the remaining patches of open water. Mallard (3,800), Gadwall (2,200) and American Black Duck (650) were all present in very high numbers today. On the other end of the spectrum, Pied-billed Grebes were absent and Ring-necked Duck (90) was recorded in the lowest numbers of the month. Gulls flew over the marsh all day, mainly American Herring Gull (356), though a single Great Black-backed Gull was seen mixed in with them. 67 species were recorded from the tower today, not a bad total for the end of November. eBird checklist available here - https://ebird.org/checklist/S286550540
Predictions: Tomorrow will be another cold day on the tower, with a start temperature of -1 and an overcast sky all day. The wind will be very light from the South/Southeast and there is a slight chance for snow in the afternoon. These are pretty unfavorable conditions for movement, but hopefully we can record a few birds. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kiah Jasper (<kiahbirder...>) Holiday Beach Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/
