As the summer holidays end and the kids go back to school, we begin to see the birds making their way south to warmer climates.

This also is the time that we begin the annual Hawk Observation as they zip past the Holiday Beach Hawk Tower. This year my Lady and I actually had an opportunity to spend some time on the tower helping out observing and counting, and whenever possible, taking photos.

However, September was a bit shorter on the tower than we had hoped. Due to various things in life getting moved ahead in the priority list, birding took what could be considered a major bump down. Not that there was anything wrong. For the first couple of weeks we were looking after our Grandpup, and it is really difficult to look for birds and take photos when you have a pretty strong dog on the end of the leash. Then after we dropped Grandpup back home we spent a few days in Tobermory where we had a very interesting experience.

While we were driving, My Lady called her brother to say hello, and while they were talking he mentioned that He and our Sister in Law were in Tobermory for a couple of days. We were quite surprised by this coincidence and decided to meet up with them as we were on our way there ourselves. When we pulled into the Motel that we were staying at, My Lady mentioned that one of the cars in the parking lot looked like her brother’s. When we went into town we met up and as we were chatting it was confirmed that it indeed was their car as they were staying at the same Motel.

We walked around town and after we checked in and got our key I remembered the room number that they were in and as it turns out, our room was DIRECTLY BELOW THEM! This was just way too bizarre. We spent the evening having supper on our balcony, talking and laughing until it was time for us all to head to bed.

We have to consider that due to Covid we had only seen her brother briefly a couple of times, and had not seen our Sister in Law for literally years. These coincidences led us to believe that our meeting was meant to be, for whatever reason. We may never know exactly why, but we are truly happy that it all happened the way it did.

After our return home it was finally time to get up onto the tower for the Hawk Watch.

You may have noticed that I rarely use people’s names in the blog, but this time I really feel that I have to give a proper shout out to the people who dedicate so much time to counting the birds that make their way past not only the tower, but as far as the eye can see all around. Thanks to Nicole, Hugh and Liz who spend up to 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, from the beginning of September to the last day of November in almost every kind of weather. Anything from brilliant sunshine and hot end of summer days, to below freezing temperatures and winds so strong you can feel the tower sway beneath your feet as the days shorten into the end of November.

We see many things while standing on the tower. One day I happened to notice a Blue Heron who had caught a fish in the marsh. We have seen this before where the fish gets caught, the bird adjusts it in its beak and quickly swallows it. Fresh Sashimi to go.

However, this time the fish was either putting up a heck of a fight or it was just too big to swallow.

Although it is a Hawk Watch or Raptor Count, there is also another group of people who capture the hawks and take various measurements, before sending them on their way with a new piece of jewellery. This is all for science and the banders are trained and certified. Once in a while they will bring a bird or two on the tower and people can adopt them. No, you can’t take it home with you, but you will get your picture taken with the bird, as well as a certificate with the banding information emailed to you, and any time that the bird gets “recaptured” you will be notified by email as to where it was found.

The biggest movement of raptors in September is usually the Broad-wing Hawks. This year we had amazing movements with 33,000 Broad-wings and 92,000 Blue Jays on September 23 alone.

You never know how hard or how easy it will be to spot the birds. Some days when the sky is clear they might start off the day flying lower and within sight, but as the day warms up they start to ride the thermals and it could take them so high that the only way to spot them is through binoculars. We have often had people lying on the floor of the tower with binos stuck to their eyes as they count tiny specks flying overhead.

Other days the clouds will cover the sky which will force the birds lower, which gives great opportunities for us to get really close views as they almost buzz us on the tower.

And some days they will be able to fly through the blue sky and disappear behind the cloud only to pop out again somewhere else along their flight path.

Families of Bald Eagles take up temporary residence in the marsh, staying months while the fishing is good.

Ducks begin to hang out for a while, fattening up for their next leg.

Monarch Butterflies pay us a visit to the tower as well during September, before starting the long trek to their wintering place in Mexico.

And as for the Blue Heron with the fish mentioned earlier… We watched it for over 10 minutes as it fought with that fish. Eventually we saw it walking in the water, without the fish but likely still hungry.

Thanks for reading.

And if you are interested in more information on Holiday Beach and what the Hawk Count is all about, as well as seeing some of the numbers and an extra little article that I wrote up specifically for the site, please visit www.HBMO.CA. Feel free to make a donation if you are so moved to do so.

Till next time.