Recently,a couple of our Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch regulars(who are highly irregular) paid Hawk Cliff a visit. What follows is Ann's account of she and Carol's visit..what they saw,highlights and some of Ann's great photos. Enjoy!
Visit to Hawk Cliff in Port Stanley:
From Oct 12 to 19 Carol and I went to Hawk Cliff to do some hawk watching. Hawk watching we did to the tune of 11,055 birds. We saw 16 Golden Eagles, 17 Bald Eagles, over 8700 Turkey Vultures, 81 Northern Harriers, 1194 Sharpshin Hawks, 71 Coopers Hawks, 2 Osprey, 140 Red Shouldered Hawks, 689 Red Tailed Hawks, 174 American Kestrels, 10 Merlins, 4 Peregrine Falcons, and 3 Rough Legged Hawks. This does not include the thousands of hawks we saw in Port Stanley and on the road to and from Toronto.
Highlight of my visit was a juv red tail hawk circling me while I was taking his photo. In the photo you can see the Redtail looking right at me. He went around and around with the sun shining through his wings. When he finally left he started to make the red tail cry. It is a moment in time I will never forget.
Carol told me her favourite moment was on the second morning at 7:30am we looked out on our cottage porch to see approximately 150 Turkey Vultures directly above us. They were kiting one way then they would fly really fast back. Carol called it the March of the Turkey Vultures. Some of the vultures were on the beach eating a dead fish, and some were just flying around. What a great way to start the morning.
If you have never been to Hawk Cliff to see the migration of hawks in Port Stanley PUT THIS ON YOUR MUST DO LIST - take a weekend, day trip or like Carol and I a week long trip. I have so many wonderful memories and a card full of photos to edit that it will take me a month to go through them. By the way the fall colours were amazing.-- Ann Brokelman
From Oct 12 to 19 Carol and I went to Hawk Cliff to do some hawk watching. Hawk watching we did to the tune of 11,055 birds. We saw 16 Golden Eagles, 17 Bald Eagles, over 8700 Turkey Vultures, 81 Northern Harriers, 1194 Sharpshin Hawks, 71 Coopers Hawks, 2 Osprey, 140 Red Shouldered Hawks, 689 Red Tailed Hawks, 174 American Kestrels, 10 Merlins, 4 Peregrine Falcons, and 3 Rough Legged Hawks. This does not include the thousands of hawks we saw in Port Stanley and on the road to and from Toronto.
Highlight of my visit was a juv red tail hawk circling me while I was taking his photo. In the photo you can see the Redtail looking right at me. He went around and around with the sun shining through his wings. When he finally left he started to make the red tail cry. It is a moment in time I will never forget.
Carol told me her favourite moment was on the second morning at 7:30am we looked out on our cottage porch to see approximately 150 Turkey Vultures directly above us. They were kiting one way then they would fly really fast back. Carol called it the March of the Turkey Vultures. Some of the vultures were on the beach eating a dead fish, and some were just flying around. What a great way to start the morning.
If you have never been to Hawk Cliff to see the migration of hawks in Port Stanley PUT THIS ON YOUR MUST DO LIST - take a weekend, day trip or like Carol and I a week long trip. I have so many wonderful memories and a card full of photos to edit that it will take me a month to go through them. By the way the fall colours were amazing.-- Ann Brokelman
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