On this page you'll find a synopsis of the latest
news from the Hawk Cliff front. If anyone has anything they think
needs to be posted here, please send an
email.
2008-11-01 Proposed Wind Turbine Project Along Dexter Line
There's been no further information made public on
the status of this project since Cyril Crocker attended a council
meeting at the start of the summer. The last we'd heard, the company
was proceeding with environmental studies in Fall 2008/ For the latest information
on this project check out the following link :
http://www.aimpowergen.com/lake_line_dexter_line_farms.html
2008-10-28 Hawk Cliff Foundation AGM 2008
Well...the HCF AGM 2008 took place on Oct 27th at the Port Stanley
Arena and Community Centre and we have to thank Barry Cherriere for
two great slide presentations. The first was "A Dedication to
Hawkwatchers at Beamer Hawkwatch" with some great old shots of the
many volunteers over the years at the Beamer site....and the second
on "Peregrines at the Hamilton area Lift Bridge" with fantastic
shots of the adult Peregrine Falcons that successfully nested and
raised young at this location.
The evening involved a good meal, socializing with other HCF members
and great draw prizes including a wonderful print of a Northern
Harrier by Shay Redmond (check out his photos at
http://www.shayredmond.com/pages/index.html):
2008-09-23 Hawk Cliff Weekends - The Good and the Bad!!
Unfortunately, the first of our open house weekends at Hawk Cliff
was basically a washout thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Ike that
pushed up into the Great Lakes region. However, even the wet weather
couldn't deter a few visitors and some of our more diehard
volunteers from sticking it out at the hawkwatch over the 2 days. We
also have to thank the Hawk Cliff Raptor Banders for managing to
have a couple of birds available for the couple of live bird demos /
talks that we managed to get in on Sunday when it was a bit drier.
For the second weekend, the weather was much more cooperative and
the fcount of raptors over the 2 days was over 2,300 birds.
The shows both Saturday and Sunday were quite good with several
different species on display prior to being released.
For a look at some of the press coverage for this years
activities click the following link:
Port Stanley News - Hawk Cliff Activities 2008
2008-02-26 James L. Baillie Memorial Fund Provides Funding
to HCF
A BIG THANKYOU to the James L/ Baillie Memorial Fund for providing grant monies to help fund our education
program at the Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch for the 2008 Fall season. This
funding will allow us to hire an onsite interpreter for the peak
month of September.. Please take the time to visit the JLBMF web
page (found under the Bird Studies Canada website) and check out who
they help and what projects / programs they support in Ontario and
across Canada. Click on their logo (at right) or on the following
link
http://www.bsc-eoc.org/about/jlbmf/index.jsp?lang=EN&targetpg=index
2008-05-20 Elgin - St. Thomas Community Foundation Provides
Funding to HCF
A BIG THANKYOU also to the Elgin - St. Thomas Community
Foundation for providing grant monies to help fund our education
program at the Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch for the 2008 Fall season. This
funding will allow us to hire an onsite interpreter for the peak
month of September. Please take the time to visit the ESCF website
and check out who they help and what projects / programs they
support in St. Thomas and Elgin County..
Click on their logo (at right) or on the following link : :
http://www.escf.ca/
2007-10-02 Hawk Cliff Foundation AGM
Well...the HCF AGM is done for another year and we'd like to thank
Russ Chantler for a great slide presentation of "Birds of
Texas"...including several raptors. There were many great prizes to
be won and as always it was fun for everyone to participate and
perhaps take home a great raptor photo, bird house or other
interesting treasure. Our thanks to everyone that provided draw
prizes. If you'd like to see lots of great bird
photos taken by Russ, you can visit his website at the following
link:
http://russchantler.com/
2007-09-24 Hawk Cliff Weekends a Resounding Success!!
The open house weekends at Hawk Cliff went very well
this season and started out with a bang! On Saturday Sept 15th we
had one of the best raptor migration flights I'd seen in years with
over 24,000 birds tallied for the day!! The best part was that it
was also one of our highest for visitor attendance as well with an
estimated 500 individuals including many families. This meant that
all of these visitors got to see first hand what the migration at
Hawk Cliff can look like. As Su Redmond (onsite interpreter)
commented, it was the first time in years that she didn't even have
to get her binoculars out...the birds were so low and there were so
many you didn't need them.
For weekend two, the weather didn't cooperate quite as well.
However, contrary to what we might have expected on a slower flight
day, the first show on Sunday was nothing short of spectacular! The
Hawk Cliff Raptor Banders brought out an adult Redtail, a juvenile
Broadwing (only about the 2nd I'd seen in-hand the 15 years I've
been doing this) and a juvenile Red-shoulder (I've never seen one
in-hand before). Jim Isawa and Sheila Fowler made sure everyone got
a good look at these birds and Jim did a great talk for the crowd.
The birds were all released as many kids and their parents looked
on.
For a look at some of the press coverage for this years
activities just click any of the following links:
Toronto Star
article on Hawk Cliff Activities 2007
London Free Press article on Hawk Cliff Activities 2007
