Tag: Hawk Festival

OMG, I’ve Never Seen It Like This Before!

Let’s get this straight; the inbound migration in Spring is very different from the outbound Fall migration.

In May we spent a lot of time at Point Pelee watching the little Warblers coming in. We had a few really great days, but we actually had to wander around looking for all the different birds, most of the time.

This is Fall, and we are spending a lot of our time at Holiday Beach, not only during the couple of weekends for the Hawk Festival, but during the rest of September and October, and will carry on through November.

Sure, some Warblers are being seen, but not in the numbers from May.

What’s really keeping us going out, are the various types of Raptors, the Turkey Vultures, and Blue Jays.

These guys are just passing through, but it’s a lot easier to find them than the little guys, considering they are travelling through in massive groups, or Kettles. We have observed a few thousand Broad-Winged Hawks going through on one day. Then, just a few days ago, I looked out our back door, and noticed lines and lines of Turkey Vultures going by. I grabbed my camera, ran outside and looked off to the south and saw more and more coming through.

  • From our back window
  • Directly above
  • More coming from the South

I made a quick decision and hopped into the car and found myself at the Hawk Tower, and helped to observe and count the various birds that flew by. Vultures, Blue Jays, Kestrels, Sharp-Shinned Hawks, Harriers, a Peregrine Falcon, a Merlin, and lots of Starlings. One of our resident Eagles and Ospreys even buzzed the tower

And on October 8, we heard that there were over 55,000 Blue Jays counted going past Holiday Beach. We couldn’t be there to see it, but we did observe a lot of Jays going upriver from our back yard.

So now, the majority of Turkey Vultures appear to have migrated out, but some still hang around, and believe it or not, the Jays are still passing through.

One day, my lady and I were at the tower, and one of the Hawk Banding members came by with a Merlin. When asked if anyone wanted to adopt it, my lady quickly said that she would. The gentleman said that it would scream at her when they took it out of the protective covering, but the bird sat nice and quiet the whole time my lady held it, as we all took photos. As soon as she released it, it flew into a nearby tree and promptly told us all off.

  • Merlin

This is one of the special times that we looked forward to when we decided to move to our little piece of heaven. Last year when we came down, we missed the outbound Monarch Butterflies as they pushed through Pelee, and again this year we haven’t been there at the right time (about 1000 were roosting on a tree near the tip a couple evenings ago, but we couldn’t make it). We did manage to see a small number resting on top of a tree one day, took a few photos, watched one that had a tag on it, and when we looked back to the group, they were all gone. Just like that.

A handful of migrating Monarch Butterflies

None the less, we have so much going on around here, it’s difficult to decide where to go and when. We might be in one place, and whatever might pass through somewhere else. Luck of the draw, but so much fun anyway.

Remember, we have an election coming up, and the polls are open pretty late. Be sure to get out and vote.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and don’t forget to click follow if you haven’t already.

Take care till next time.

Has it really been a month already?

I guess every month might be the new norm for getting posts out.

It’s going to be hard to try to catch up nowadays.

The Tall Ships made their way through a few weeks ago. We had a small number of them in Kingsville for the weekend. Had a chance to go out and see them. I’m definitely not a sailor, but there’s something about the smell of the canvas sails, the strength of the wooden masts, and the thought of being out on the ocean travelling to new lands, that makes visiting the ships an enjoyable experience.

  • Empire Sandy
  • Empire Sandy

We had a friend down with us recently and showed her around our little slice of paradise. First night she arrived, we boogied on over to the Tecumseh Corn Festival. Nice little country fair. Enjoyed some corn on the cob, watched some people try to hang by their arms for 2 minutes to win a prize. Sadly nobody could. Checked out the vendors, wandered the midway and made our way back home. Next morning, it was off to some of our local birding sites. She was very lucky to have been able to see some of our feathered friends; Eagle, Ospreys, Green Heron, Snowy Egrets, and a rare Black Bellied Whistling Duck.

  • Mature Bald Eagle
  • Green Heron
  • Dragonfly
  • Sanderling
  • Snowy Egret
  • Great Egret
  • Osprey calling
  • Osprey pair
  • Black Bellied Whistling Duck

Soon we were on our way to Point Pelee. Took the tram to the tip and walked the path to the most southern end of mainland Canada. As we started back to the tram stop, we found ourselves in the middle of hundreds of dragonflies, of all sizes and colours. A couple allowed me to take their photos, but most of the time they just buzzed around all over the place.

Too soon, our friend had to return home, but not before visiting Fort Malden for the Arts by the River in Amherstburg. We spent a couple hours wandering through the vendors. It’s quite a large event, especially for a small town, and even though we hadn’t planned on spending any money, I ended up making a couple of purchases.

The following week, my lady and I went to the Harrow Fair. This seemed bigger than the Corn Fest, and offered much more to see. Of course there’s the midway, vendors and food, but we spent a fair time wandering through the buildings looking at all the contests, including; quilting, baking, photography, livestock and vegetables. And let’s not forget the Tractor Pull.

Harrow Fair Tractor Pull

As it turns out, the beginning of September is also the start of the Raptor Watch at Holiday Beach. Even though the Hawk Festival happens on the 14-15 and 21-22 weekends, the counting has already started. We have been to the tower a number of days already and have learned quite a bit about how to identify various raptors (not the Toronto Raptors, or the dinosaur). We all watch the sky for any movement, and even though it is a Raptor Watch, anything that seems to be migrating gets counted. Butterflies, dragonflies, hummingbirds, various warblers, starlings, ducks, geese, swans, and so on, along with the kestrel, falcon, merlin, red-tail hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, vulture, harrier, osprey (quite a few locals who aren’t moving out yet) and eagles (also not moving out yet), plus many more.

Our backyard birds are changing as well. The House Wren is gone, but we have seen and heard the Carolina Wren once in a while. The Hummingbirds have left and the Orioles were only back for a very short time. The Starlings are starting to gather in the trees, and we have seen flocks moving through the fields. The Egret roost just a couple of minutes’ walk away is filling up each evening, the Blue Jays are slowly moving in and will be here for a couple of weeks, before they too go quiet.

Egret Roost

Soon, the season will change again, and if I am really lucky, or just diligent, I can start moving the pace of this blog up a bit, depending on what’s happening. But based on what I see on the Events Calendar, we are going to be pretty busy right through Christmas.

By the way, if you are in Amherstburg during September 14-15 or 21-22, try to stop by the Festival of Hawks at Holiday Beach. And on the weekend of September 27-29 we have The Uncommon Festival, Museum Ghost Tours, and the Essex County War of 1812. Not far down the road is the 40th Anniversary of the Ruthven Apple Festival on the 28-29, and what’s even better is that admission is FREE.

Thanks for reading and I’m glad you made it this far.

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