Record number of birds at this year’s Festival of Hawks

Despite the wet weather, area birders were on the hawk tower at Holiday Beach Conservation Area in Amherstburg keeping their eyes on the sky.

All eyes were on the sky this past weekend as Holiday Beach Conservation Area was the site of the 52nd Festival of Hawks.

While the rainy weather discouraged some from attending, nevertheless it was an historic event for those who had the arduous task of counting the various species of birds.

Over a 10-hour period on Friday, members of the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO) manned the tower and searched the sky. Unprecedented numbers were recorded including 59,957 broad-winged hawks. The event was co-presented by the HBMO and the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA).

“The reason there was so many is that we had kind of a perfect storm in the conditions,” said official counter Michael Burton-Smith.

He explained that for three days, northerly winds brought the birds from Northern Ontario to the shores of Lake Erie where they gathered in swarms before crossing over closer to the Detroit River on their migratory route to as far away as Central and South America.

“There was a lot of eyes to spot these things,” said HBMO president Hugh Kent who acknowledged the dedication of over 20 counters who had their eyes close up to binoculars for several hours at a time.

Besides the nearly 60,000 broad-winged hawks, the group also counted 102 turkey vultures, 495 sharp-shinned hawks, 33 bald eagles and 180 American Kestrel among the 72 different species.

James Cowan with a hawk from the Canadian Raptor Conservatory.

“We were exhausted. It was a heck of an effort. It was a very special day. It was the third highest count of broad wings in one day we have ever had at this station,” said Burton-Smith.

Visitors who came to the Essex Region Conservation Authority site braved the rainy weather and held tight to umbrellas during the interesting Birds of Prey show presented by the Canadian Raptor Conservatory.

One of the birds that James Cowan from the Conservatory brought was a hawk named Doughty, named after famous Canadian hockey player Drew Doughty. The bird is seldom seen in Canada as it prefers desert states such as Texas, Arizona and California.

“It’s one of the only raptor species that hunt in a pack. Most birds are solitary. This one is the exception to the rule as they are a family unit,” said Cowan.

Cowan also brought along the smallest falcon, known as a sparrow hawk which is commonly referred to as an American Kestrel.

“Some of these guys may look cute and cuddly but they are not what they appear to be.”

A great horned owl watches the action.

Cowan also introduced a beautiful owl from Alberta and said it serves a very important purpose.

“I like to call this bird the farmer’s best friend because 90 percent of its diet is mice.”

This year’s Hawk Fest also included nature-themed workshops, educational vendors and Unifor Local 444 which sponsored the Bird of Prey shows, and did an environmental trivia game.

Record number of birds at this year’s Festival of Hawks

By Fred Groves