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RMERF counts, April 17

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Wednesday, April 17 Mount Lorette [Day 46] 0715-2045 (Cliff Hansen, assisted by Rick Robb and Chris Hunt). The starting temperature was 3C, the high at 1700 was 11C and it was 7C at the end of observation. Ground winds were SW all day 0-5 gusting 20 km/h and up to 35 km/h after 1700, while ridge winds were moderate to strong W-NW in the morning that became NW to 1700 after which they were strong NW for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was initially 80% cumulus that brought light snow flurries and was then 90-60% cumulus for the rest of the day. The ridges were clear all day and observing conditions were good throughout, but the only migrants seen were a subadult Golden Eagle that glided high from the Fisher Range to above Mount Lorette at 1618 and an unaged Golden Eagle that glided very high on the same route at 1940. Resident and non-migrant raptors were 4 adult Bald Eagles (probably two pairs) that soared above the Fisher Range at 1645 and interacted vigorously before flying to the east, a Northern Goshawk that called from the nest site at 1000, a pair of Red-tailed Hawks that soared above Hummingbird Plume Hill at 1536 and 1 or 2 adult resident Golden Eagles that were occasionally seen hunting up to 1214. Other birds in the area were also scarce and comprised 3 Canada Geese, 11 Mallards and a pair of Common Mergansers on the river, 2 drumming Ruffed Grouse, 1 pair of Northern Flickers, 6 Common Ravens, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 1 singing Varied Thrush, 4 American Robins, a small flock of perched Red Crossbills, 1 Song Sparrow, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 of which was cismontanus and 1 male Red-winged Blackbird. Four White-tailed Deer fed in the meadow late in the evening and there were 4 visitors at the site today.

13.5 hours (530.3) GOEA 2 (2076) TOTAL 2 (2361)

 

Wednesday, April 17 Beaver Mines [Day 46] 0645-2045 (Peter Sherrington assisted by Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0645 was 4C, reached a high of 12C at 1500 and 1600 and was still 8.5C at 2045. Winds were strong W-WSW all day, 30-45 gusting to 80 km/h, and it was initially cloudless with 30% cumulus developing at 0800 after which cloud cover was variable 30-80% cumulus, cirrus and cirrocumulus to late in the day when it was again cloudless. There was sporadic very light flurries or light rain to 1100, but observing conditions were excellent all day. A total of 25 migrant raptors of 6 species moved between 0755 and 1629 comprising 3 Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa, 1u), 4 Northern Harriers (2a females, 1j male, 1u), 5 Sharp-shinned Hawks (2a, 3u), 5 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks, 5 Golden Eagles (2a, 3j) and 3 American Kestrels (2 females, 1 male). Movement was slow but steady to 1629 with a maximum hourly count of 5 between 1200 and 1300 and again between 1600 and 1629 after which no further migrants were seen although there was no change in the weather conditions. Resident birds were a pair of Northern Harriers, and 2 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks that were seen regularly to 1651 when they also disappeared until 2015 when a single bird was seen hunting high above the valley and at 2032 a single bird soared high above the centre of the valley just below the full moon before flying north, presumably to roost. Other birds seen were a pair of Canada Geese on the creek and 2 that flew very high to the north, 2 male and 1 female Wood Ducks on a flooded pasture adjacent to the creek at 1956 which were the first ever seen here, a pair of Mallards, 1 Ruffed Grouse, 16 Rock Pigeons, 1 Sandhill Crane that fed briefly in the valley at 1003 before flying low to the SW, and 3 single birds that flew high above the ridge at 1008, 1325 and 1328, 3 Downy Woodpeckers, 1 Northern Flicker, 5 Blue Jays, 2 Black-billed Magpies, 19 Common Ravens, 3 Black-capped Chickadees, the first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the year, 4 American Robins, 252 European Starlings, 31 Evening Grosbeaks, 12 Pine Siskins and 8 male Red-winged Blackbirds.

14 hours (559.5) BAEA 3 (210), NOHA 4 (25), SSHA 5 (27), RTHA 5 (103), GOEA 5 (584), AMKE 3 (5) TOTAL 25 (1045)

 

Wednesday, April 17 Steeples (Vance Mattson) NO OBSERVATION. It was a clear day but unfortunately work commitments prevented Vance from observing.

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2019
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   March 1-April 22 STEEPLES      March 1-April 22
DAYS  46  46  38
HOURS 530.3 559.5  186
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU)  1 0 3
OSPREY (OSPR) 0  0  0
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 201  210  212
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 1  25  1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA)  5 27 1
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA)  0 2 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 15 26 0
Accipiter sp. (UA) 1 0 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 0 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 0 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 10 103 8
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0 2 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 11 25 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 1 6 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2076 584 453
Eagle sp. (UE) 25 2 7
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0 5 1
MERLIN (MERL) 6 9 0
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1 6 0
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 5 0
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2 7 0
Falco sp. (UF) 1 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 4 1 0
       
TOTALS 2361 1045 689

 

 

 


RMERF counts, April 16

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Tuesday, April 16 Mount Lorette [Day 45] 0715-2015 (Blake Weis, assisted by Brian McBride). The temperature at 0715 was -5C, the high was 8C between 1600 and 1900 and it was 6C at 2015. Ground winds were S-SW 0-5 gusting 15 km/h to 1300, variable SW-W-NW 0-5 gusting 20 km/h between 1300 and 1500, and then W-SW 0-5 gusting 25 km/h for the rest of the day. Ridge winds were SW all day, light to moderate to 1300, moderate to 1900 then light to moderate for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 80-90% cirrus and cirrostratus to 1100 that reduced to 70% altocumulus and cirrus at 1300, and 20% altocumulus at 1600 after which it increased again to 90% altostratus, altocumulus, cirrus and cirrostratus for the rest of the day. All ridges were clear. A total of 18 migrant raptors of 3 species moved between 1120 and 1830 comprising 2 adult Northern Goshawks, 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk and 15 Golden Eagles (8j, 7u). Movement was slow and steady throughout with a maximum hourly count of only 4 Golden Eagles between 1500 and 1600. The two goshawks and 2 Golden Eagles were initially located at the northern end of the Fisher range, 3 Golden Eagles were first seen over Mount Lorette and probably came from Wasootch Creek, while the rest moved on the western route with most birds soaring over Olympic Summit before gliding high to the NW behind the summit of Mount Allan. Non-migrant birds were 1 resident adult Northern Goshawk that hunted north of the site and displayed above the southern end of Hummingbird Plume Hill, 1 adult Red-tailed Hawk that soared over Hummingbird Plume Hill and the resident pair that was seen in a spectacular talon-gripping free-fall display just south of Olympic Summit at 1740 after the male was seen displaying there earlier at 1458. Yet another flock of Snow Geese, this time 50 birds, flew high across the valley and over the Fisher Range to the east at 1900, and other birds noted were 3 Canada Geese, 3 Mallards and a pair of Bufflehead (new for the year) on the river, 4 Ruffed Grouse, one of which 3 drummed, 1 female American Three-toed Woodpecker on Stoney Trail west of the site, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, a pair of Northern Flickers, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 3 Canada Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 1 American Crow, 10 Common Ravens, the first Northern Rough-winged Swallow of the season at 1430, 5 Black-capped Chickadees, 5 Mountain Chickadees, 1 Boreal Chickadee, 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 1 Brown Creeper, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 1 singing Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 2 pairs of Mountain Bluebirds, 2 singing Varied Thrushes, 20 American Robins, 2 European Starlings, 3 American Pipits, 1 White winged Crossbill, 2 Pine Siskins, 2 American Tree Sparrows, 1 Fox Sparrow that sang at 0930, 1 Song Sparrow and 10 Dark-eyed Juncos, 3 of which were montanus. Eight White-tailed Deer fed in the meadow in the evening and there was only 1 visitor at the site today.

13 hours (516.8) NOGO 2 (15), RTHA 1 (10), GOEA 15 (2074) TOTAL 18 (2359)

 

Tuesday, April 16 Beaver Mines [Day 44] 0645-2030 (Peter Sherrington assisted by Hilary Atkinson). The temperature was -1C at 0645, the high at 1700 was 11C and it was 6C at 2030 when observation ceased. Winds were generally light NW-SW to 1330 when they significantly increased to WSW-W 20-35 gusting to 45 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 100-80% cirrostratus with minor altocumulus and cumulus to 1300, 10-40% cumulus to 1730, 90-100% altostratus, cumulus, cirrus and altocumulus to 2000 that quickly dwindled to 10% altocumulus at 2030. Observing conditions were excellent throughout and a total of 30 migrants of 6 species were seen between 1037 and 2016 that comprised 9 Bald Eagles (5a, 3j, 1u), 3 Northern Harriers (1 adult female, 1 juvenile female and 1 juvenile male), 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 adult Northern Goshawks, 4 Red-tailed Hawks (1a and1u light morph calurus, and 2 birds of unknown race or age) and 11 Golden Eagles (5a, 4j 2u). Movement was fairly steady throughout with a maximum hourly count of 6 birds between 1037 and 1100, and single adult Bald Eagles at 2003 and 2016 were the first migrants seen after 2000 this season. A resident pair of Northern Harriers was seen with the male displaying on a couple of occasions, birds from two pairs of Red-tailed Hawks were conspicuous throughout the day and a male resident Golden Eagle flew from the ridge to the SE at 1106. Other birds seen were a pair of Canada Geese, 5 Mallards, 1 male Common Merganser, 17 Rock Pigeons, at 0830 a pair of Sandhill Cranes unconcernedly fed in the valley close to a family group of three Coyotes, and 3 other birds flew high to the SW above the ridge at 1116, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 1 Northern Flicker, 2 Blue Jays, 21 American Crows, 20 Common Ravens, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 1 Mountain Chickadee, 1 male Mountain Bluebird, 4 American Robins, 129 European Starlings, 30 Evening Grosbeaks, 1 female Cassin’s Finch, 20 Pine Siskins and 6 male Red-winged Blackbirds.

13.75 hours (545.5) BAEA 9 (207), NOHA 3 (21), SSHA 1 (22), NOGO 2 (26), RTHA 4 (98), GOEA 11 (579) TOTAL 30 (1020)

 

Tuesday, April 16 Steeples [Day 38] 1300-1800 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 19C, it was calm with intermittent W winds and cloud cover was initially 50% cumulus but quickly became 100% altostratus for most of the day. No migrant raptors were seen, but non-migrant birds were 5 Turkey Vultures, 7 Bald Eagles (4a, 3j) that included 2 pair-flights, and 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk that indulged in a spirited aerial duel with a raven.

5 hours (168) TOTAL 0 (689)

 

SUMMARY COUNTS, SPRING 2019
MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   March 1-April 22 STEEPLES     March 1-April 22
DAYS 45 45 38
HOURS 516.8 545.5 186
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 1 0 3
OSPREY (OSPR) 0 0 0
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 201 207 212
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 1 21 1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 5 22 1
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 0 2 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 15 26 0
Accipiter sp. (UA) 1 0 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 0 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 0 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 10 98 8
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0 2 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 11 25 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 1 6 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2074 579 453
Eagle sp. (UE) 25 2 7
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0 2 1
MERLIN (MERL) 6 9 0
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1 6 0
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 5 0
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2 7 0
Falco sp. (UF) 1 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 4 1 0
   
TOTALS 2359 1020 689

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


RMERF counts, April 15

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Monday, April 15 Mount Lorette [Day 44] 0715-1915 (George Halmazna, assisted by Dan Parliament). The temperature was -3C at the start, rose to a high of 5.5C at 1500 and was 3C at the end of observation. It was calm to 0900 after which ground winds were SW all day, 5-15 km/h to 1800 and 2-10 km/h for the last two hours, while ridge winds were moderate SW all day. Cloud cover was 80-100% cirrocumulus, cirrostratus, altostratus, cumulus and stratus all day that produced snow flurries in the west to 1800 that only occasionally reached the site. All ridges were clear in the morning after which the west was 20% obscured except between 1600 and 1700 when it was 90% obscured, and the east was 30% obscured during the same period and 10-20% obscured for the rest of the afternoon apart from the last hour when it cleared. There was a disappointing migration of only 8 eagles: 1 juvenile Bald Eagle and 7 Golden Eagles (5a, 2u) that moved between 1245 and 1800 with a maximum hourly count of 3 (1 Bald and 2 Golden Eagles) between 1300 and 1400, and 2 Golden Eagles moved between 1700 and 1800. The first three birds were initially located over Skogan Pass from where they glided to Pigeon Mountain and the rest glided high from the northern end of the Fisher Range to Mount Lorette. Resident and non-migrant birds were an adult Bald Eagle that flew to the south, 1 adult Northern Goshawk, 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk and the resident pair of Golden Eagles. Other birds in the area were 3 Canada Geese and 5 Mallards on the river, 1 male Common Merganser flying above the river, 3 drumming and 1 seen Ruffed Grouse, a pair of Northern Flickers, 1 Canada Jay, 7 Common Ravens, 7 Black-capped Chickadees, 4 Mountain Chickadees, 2 Boreal Chickadees, 4 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 1 male Mountain Bluebird, 1 singing Varied Thrush, 13 American Robins, 1 Song Sparrow and 10 singing montanus Dark-eyed Juncos. Two White-tailed Deer fed in the meadow in the morning and 2 in the evening, and 3 Mule Deer were seen near Lorette Ponds. Only 4 visitors made it to the site today.

12 hours (503.8) BAEA 1 (201), GOEA 7 (2059) TOTAL 8 (2341)

 

Monday, April 15 Beaver Mines [Day 44] 0645-2045 (Peter Sherrington assisted by Hilary Atkinson). The temperature was 0C at 0645, the high of 9C was reached at 1600 and 1700 and it was 3C at 2045. Winds were WSW-W all day 30-45 gusting to 55 km/h and cloud cover was 100-30% cirrus, cirrostratus, cumulus and altocumulus to 1500, 20-30% cumulus to 1750 after which it was cloudless. Migration and observation conditions were excellent all day and produced a fairly strong April count of 50 birds of 9 species between 0856 and 1940. The flight was 10 Bald Eagles (7a, 2sa, 1j), 2 female Northern Harriers (1a, 1j), 2u Sharp-shinned Hawks, a season-high 11 adult Red-tailed Hawks (10 light morph calurus and 1 dark morph harlani), 1 dark unidentified Buteo, 20 Golden Eagles (10a, 2sa, 8j), 1 male American Kestrel, 1 male columbarius Merlin, 1 female dark grey Gyrfalcon and 1u Peregrine Falcon. Movement was slow and steady to 1815 after which 23 more migrants were seen, 15 moving between 1815 and 1900 and 8 between 1900 and 1940. Seven Golden Eagles glided high to the NNW together at 1827. A male Northern Harrier displayed at 1108 and again at 1140, and at least 4 adult Red-tailed Hawks (probably 2 pairs) were seen frequently between 1047 and 1925. Today’s non-raptor birds were a pair Canada Geese, 3 Mallards, 3 Rock Pigeons, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Northern Flicker, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 21 American Crows, 32 Common Ravens, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 4 American Robins, 75 European Starlings, 25 Evening Grosbeaks, 25  Pine Siskins  a pair of hyemalis Dark-eyed Juncos and 3 male Red-winged Blackbirds.

14 hours (531.8) BAEA 10 (198), NOHA 2 (18), SSHA 2 (21), RTHA 11 (94), UB 1 (6), GOEA 20 (568), AMKE 1 (2), MERL 1 (9), GYRF 1 (6), PEFA 1 (5) TOTAL 50 (990)

 

Monday, April 15 Steeples (Vance Mattson) NO OBSERVATION.

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2019
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   March 1-April 22 STEEPLES      March 1-April 22
DAYS  44  44  37
HOURS 503.8 531.8  181
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU)  1 0 3
OSPREY (OSPR) 0  0  0
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 201  198  212
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 1  18  1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA)  5 21 1
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA)  0 2 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 13 24 0
Accipiter sp. (UA) 1 0 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 0 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 0 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 9 94 8
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0 2 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 11 25 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 1 6 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2059 568 453
Eagle sp. (UE) 25 2 7
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0 2 1
MERLIN (MERL) 6 9 0
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1 6 0
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 5 0
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2 7 0
Falco sp. (UF) 1 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 4 1 0
       
TOTALS 2341 990 689

 

 

 

 

 


RMERF counts, April 14

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Sunday, April 14 Mount Lorette [Day 43] 0615-2035 (Bill Wilson, assisted by Lori Anderson). The starting temperature was 1C but fell to 0C at 0800, reached a high of 7C at 1600 and 1700 and was 2C at the end of observation. Ground winds were SW-NW 0-3 km/h to 0800, and then SSE-SW 5-10 km/h for the rest of the day with a maximum gust of 36 km/h at 1500; ridge winds were WSW all day, moderate to 1400 and then moderate to strong. Cloud cover was 80-100% cumulus and altostratus to 1500, 30% cumulus at 1600 and then 60-70% cumulus and stratus for the rest of the day. There were very light snow flurries between 1100 and 1400 and a snow squall between 1430 and 1500, but the east was clear and the west was 10-20 % obscured all day. There was a slow but steady raptor movement of 14 birds of 3 species between 0912 and 1927 with 5 hourly periods having 2 migrants and 4 producing single birds. The count was 1u Bald Eagle, 1 unidentified Accipiter, 11 Golden Eagles (2a, 1sa, 5j, 3u) and 1 unidentified eagle. All birds glided high to very high above the Fisher Range to Mount Lorette with the exception of one Golden Eagle that glided directly to Skogan Pass and on to the NW. Three resident adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks soared amicably together at the southern end of Hummingbird Plume Hill at 1645, 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa) moved towards the south and three single resident Golden Eagles (2a, 1j) were seen flying at 1408, 1533 and 1941 but no displays were evident. Other birds recorded in the area were 3 Canada Geese, 2 pairs of  Mallards and a pair of Common Goldeneyes all on the river, 7 Common Mergansers flying to the north above the river, 1 drumming Ruffed Grouse, 4 unidentified white-headed gulls that flew north above the eastern part of the valley, 2 Northern Flickers, 1 American Crow, 25 Common Ravens, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 2 Boreal Chickadees, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1 singing Varied Thrush, 6 American Robins, 1 Fox Sparrow that sang in the early morning and was not heard again, and 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 of which was montanus. Eight White-tailed Deer fed in the meadow in the evening and there were 25 visitors to the site today.

14.33 hours (491.8) BAEA 1 (200), UA 1 (1), GOEA 11 (2052), UE 1 (25) TOTAL 14 (2333)

 

Sunday, April 14 Beaver Mines [Day 43] 0700-2015 (Peter Sherrington assisted by Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0700 was 2C, the high between 1400 and 1600 was 7C and it was 2C at 2015. Winds were strong W-WSW all day gusting 60-70 km/h, and cloud cover was 40-20% mainly cumulus and altocumulus to 1600 and 60-100% cirrus, cumulus and altocumulus for the rest of the day. The ridge was clear with the exception of periods of snow that swept down the valley from the Continental Divide at 0710-0750, 0805-0845, 1450-1500, 1720-1755, 1810-1840 and 1920-1945 when the ridge was completely obscured. There was a fairly strong and persistent raptor movement of 30 birds of 7 species between 0917 and 1756 that comprised 6 Bald Eagles (5 adults and 1 late subadult) 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1a Northern Goshawk, 8 adult calurus Red-tailed Hawks (7 light. 1 dark), 4 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 2 dark, 1u), 1 unidentified dark morph Buteo, 8 Golden Eagles (4a, 4j) and 1 female columbarius Merlin. The busiest hour was 7 birds between 1100 and 1200. A male Northern Harrier that displayed at 1056 was reduced to a ball of disheveled feathers by a strong gust of wind and was not seen to display again, and single resident Red-tailed Hawks were only seen on 3 occasions. Other birds were 3 Canada Geese, 1 pair of Mallards, 1 male Common Merganser, 5 Rock Pigeons, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 1 Northern Flicker,  8 Blue Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 29 Common Ravens, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 3 Mountain Chickadees, 2 American Robins, 102 European Starlings, 25 Evening Grosbeaks, 40  Pine Siskins and 2 male Red-winged Blackbirds.

13.25 hours (517.8) BAEA 6 (188), SSHA 1 (19), NOGO 1 (24), RTHA 8 (83), RLHA 4 (25), UB 1 (5), GOEA 8 (548), MERL 1 (8) TOTAL 30 (940)

 

Sunday, April 14 Steeples [Day 37] 1130-1800 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 6-9C, cloud cover was initially 100% stratus that became 50% cumulus by the end of the day and periods of light snow and hail fell between 1500 and 1630. The only migrant seen was the season’s first American Kestrel, a female, and non-migrant birds were 4 Turkey Vultures, 3 adult Bald Eagles, 2 sightings of adult Sharp-shinned Hawks, and 1 adult Golden Eagle that flew to the SW above the site.

6.5 hours (181) AMKE 1 (1) TOTAL 1 (689)

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2019
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   March 1-April 22 STEEPLES      March 1-April 22
DAYS  43  43  37
HOURS 491.8 504.5  181
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU)  1 0 3
OSPREY (OSPR) 0  0  0
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 200  188  212
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 1  16  1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA)  5 19 1
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA)  0 2 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 13 24 0
Accipiter sp. (UA) 1 0 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 0 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 0 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 9 83 8
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0 2 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 11 25 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 1 5 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2052 548 453
Eagle sp. (UE) 25 2 7
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0 1 1
MERLIN (MERL) 6 8 0
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1 5 0
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 4 0
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2 7 0
Falco sp. (UF) 1 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 4 1 0
       
TOTALS 2333 940 689

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


RMERF counts, April 13

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Saturday, April 13 Mount Lorette [Day 42] 0715-1810 (Blake Weis, assisted by Patrick Farley). The temperature at 0715 was -2C, the high at 1800 and 1900 was 8C and it was 5C at the end of observation. Ground winds were S-SW all day, 0-5 gusting 15 km/h to 1000 and again after 1800, but gusting to 25 km/h for most of the day, while ridge winds were WSW moderate to strong to 1800 after which they were moderate. Cloud cover was 40% altocumulus, cumulus and cirrus at the start that thickened to 100% altostratus, altocumulus and cumulus after 1000 with the addition of lenticular and cirrus clouds after 1600. The western ridges were 10% obscured after 1400 and there were occasional very light flurries between 1400 and 1700. The conditions produced 20 migrant raptors of 4 species from 1035 to 1834 comprising 4 Bald Eagles (2a, 1sa, 1u), 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 13 Golden Eagles (2a, 1sa, 5j, 5u) and 2u Merlins. The highest hourly count was 6 between 1300 and 1400 and 3 of the Bald Eagles along with the last Golden Eagle were seen between 1800 and 1834. Apart from the Sharp-shinned Hawk and 1 Bald Eagle that flew above the valley and 1 Golden Eagle on the western route all birds glided at ridge level or higher from the Fisher Range to Mount Lorette. Three non-migrant Bald Eagles (2a, 1j) were seen, the resident pair of Northern Goshawks soared to the north of the site at 1120 where the male displayed, a resident Red-tailed Hawk soared above Hummingbird Plume Hill at 1235, and the resident Golden Eagle pair glided south above the Fisher Range to Mount McDougall at 1255 where the male displayed. Other birds noted were 4 Canada Geese on the river, 6 Mallards, a pair of Barrow’s Goldeneye that were new for the year, 1 male Common Merganser, 3 Ruffed Grouse, one of which drummed, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 3 Northern Flickers, a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers, 5 American Crows, 15 Common Ravens, 3 Black-capped Chickadees, 4 Mountain Chickadees, 2 Boreal Chickadees, 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 1 Brown Creeper, 3 male Mountain Bluebirds, 1 singing Varied Thrush, 10 American Robins, the first American Pipit of the season, 11 Red Crossbills that flew south in a single flock, 1 White winged Crossbill, 1 Pine Siskin, 1 Song Sparrow and 8 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 of which was cismontanus. Five White-tailed Deer fed in the meadow in the evening and there were 27 visitors at the site today.

10.92 hours (477.5) BAEA 4 (199), SSHA 1 (5), GOEA 13 (2041), MERL 2 (6) TOTAL 20 (2319)

 

Saturday, April 13 Beaver Mines [Day 42] 0645-2015 (Peter Sherrington assisted by Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0645 was 2C, reached a high of 9C at 1400 and was 5C at 2015. Winds were WSW and occasionally W 20-30 gusting to 60 km/h all day and cloud cover was 60-80% cumulus and cirrostratus to 0900 and then 100% cirrostratus and cumulus for the rest of the day with lenticular clouds developing after 1800. Observing and migration conditions were excellent and produced a fairly strong mid-April raptor movement of 52 birds between 0825 and 1925 that involved a season-high 13 species. The count was 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1j), 3 Northern Harriers (1 adult male, 2 females: 1j, 1u), 2u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1a Cooper’s Hawk, 1a Northern Goshawk, 7a calurus Red-tailed Hawks (5 light, 2 dark), 1a light morph Ferruginous Hawk, 3 Rough-legged Hawks (2 light, 1 dark), 1 unidentified Buteo, 24 Golden Eagles (12a, 5sa, 7j), 1 male American Kestrel (the first of the season), 4 columbarius Merlins (2 males, 2 females), 1u Peregrine Falcon and 1 Prairie Falcon that was the last migrant of the day. Migration was consistent within the movement period with a high hourly count of 9 between 1000 and 1100, and the only hour without migrants was 1300-1400. An adult male Northern Harrier displayed once at 1159 and 3 resident Red-tailed Hawks soared together at 1130 and one or two birds were seen mainly hunting up to 1925. Other birds were 5 Canada Geese, 6 Mallards, 17 Rock Pigeons, 3 Downy Woodpeckers, 1 Northern Flicker,  4 Blue Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 4 American Crows, 49 Common Ravens, 3 Black-capped Chickadees, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 4 American Robins, 22 European Starlings, 30 Evening Grosbeaks, 20 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 38  Pine Siskins, 1 cismontanus Dark-eyed Junco and 4 male Red-winged Blackbirds.

13.5 hours (504.5) BAEA 2 (182), NOHA 3 (16), SSHA 2 (18), COHA 1 (2), NOGO 1 (23), RTHA 7 (75), FEHA 1 (2), RLHA 3 (21), UB 1 (4), GOEA 24 (540), AMKE 1 (1), MERL 4 (7), PEFA 1 (4), PRFA 1 (7) TOTAL 52 (910)

 

Saturday, April 13 Steeples [Day 36] 1600-1730 (Vance Mattson). It was a rainy overcast day with 100% altostratus and dark cumulus, a temperature of 9C and strong S-SE winds. The ridges cleared briefly at 1530 but 1.5 hours of observation yielded no migrant raptors before it again clouded over and precipitation resumed. Non-migrants were 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1j) and 1 adult Golden Eagle, all seen along the ridge.

1.5 hours (174.5) TOTAL 0 (688)

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2019
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   March 1-April 22 STEEPLES      March 1-April 22
DAYS  42  42  36
HOURS 477.5 504.5  174.5
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU)  1 0 3
OSPREY (OSPR) 0  0  0
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 199  182  212
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 1  16  1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA)  5 18 1
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA)  0 2 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 13 23 0
Accipiter sp. (UA) 0 0 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 0 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 0 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 9 75 8
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0 2 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 11 21 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 1 4 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2041 540 453
Eagle sp. (UE) 24 2 7
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0 1 0
MERLIN (MERL) 6 7 0
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1 5 0
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 4 0
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2 7 0
Falco sp. (UF) 1 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 4 1 0
       
TOTALS 2319 910 688

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


RMERF counts, April 12

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Friday, April 12 Mount Lorette [Day 41] 0815-2020 (Caroline Lambert, assisted by Rick Robb). The starting temperature was -1C, the high was 5C between 1500 and 1800, and it was 3C at 2020. Ground winds were N 0-10 km/h to 1700 after which they were SW gusting to 20 km/h for the rest of the day, while ridge winds were light to moderate W to 1700 then moderate W. Cloud cover was 100% stratus that brought light snow to 1200, 90-80% cumulus, altocumulus and altostratus to 1900 after which 40% towering cumulus clouds threatened a thunderstorm for the rest of the day. The east was 100% obscured to 1200, 40% to 1500, 20% to 1800 and then clear, and the west was 100% obscured to 1400, 80% to 1700 and 40% for the rest of the day. Despite the weather there was a fairly strong raptor movement of 34 birds of 4 species between 1135 and 1710 that comprised 3 Bald Eagles (2a, 1sa), a season-high 3 adult calurus Red-tailed Hawks (2 light, 1 dark), 3 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 23 Golden Eagles (6a, 4sa, 8j, 5u) and 2 unidentified eagles. No birds were seen on the western route and only 2 over the Fisher Range and the rest of the birds were located at the northern end of Hummingbird Plume Hill and immediately south of Mount Lorette and appeared to originate from the Wasootch Creek area north of the Fisher Range. Raptors migrated steadily throughout the movement period with 6 seen between 1135 and 1200, 7 between 1200 and 1300, 1300 and 1400 and again between 1700 and 1710. Non-migrant birds were an adult Bald Eagle that hunted low over the river early in the morning and a juvenile hunted over Hummingbird Hill at 1500, a juvenile female Northern Harrier that hunted below Hummingbird Plume Hill at 1220, a Northern Goshawk hunting over Olympic Summit at 1520, the resident Golden Eagle pair that were seen flying between on three occasions between 1220 and 1800 and a subadult Golden Eagle that flew south from Hummingbird Hill at 1320. Other birds recorded were 5 Canada Geese, a pair of Mallards and a male Common Merganser on the river, 2 drumming Ruffed Grouse, 1 Killdeer, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 2 Northern Flickers, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 1 Canada Jay, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 10 Common Ravens, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 2 American Dippers, 3 singing Varied Thrushes, 7 American Robins, 6 European Starlings, 10 White-winged Crossbills, 2 American Tree Sparrows, 1 Song Sparrow and 10 Dark-eyed Juncos. Five White-tailed Deer fed in the meadow late in the day and there were 7 visitors at the site today.

12.08 hours (466.6) BAEA 3 (195), RTHA 3 (9), RLHA 3 (11), GOEA 23 (2028) UE 2 (24) TOTAL 34 (2299)

 

Friday, April 12 Beaver Mines [Day 41] 0645-2045 (Peter Sherrington assisted by Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0645 was 0C, the high at 1600 was 6C and it was 1C at 2045. Winds were light ENE to ESE with a light westerly flow aloft to 1830 when the winds switched to W-WSW 10-15 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 100% stratus to 1400 which brought light snow and light rain to 1320 and obscured the ridge to 0720. At 1355 the first small patches of blue sky appeared and cloud cover quickly thinned to 40-70% which gave sunny periods to 1830 when dark stratocumulus moved from the west that brought light snow and briefly obscured the ridge. By 1905 the skies had again cleared to 60% cumulus, altocumulus and cirrus and at 2045 the only cloud that remained was 10% altocumulus. The overcast and light wind conditions through most of the day produced only 5 migrant raptors: an adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk at 1444, an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk at 1559 and 3 unaged Golden Eagles that soared very high above the ridge at 1725 and probably reached the westerly upper flow before gliding high to the NW. A non-migrant subadult Bald Eagle that hunted Mallards on the creek between 1052 and 1115, and a displaying resident Red-tailed Hawk at 1556 were the only other raptors seen. Other birds in the area were 4 Canada Geese, 10 Mallards, 4 Wild Turkeys, 11 Rock Pigeons, 2 Great Blue Herons that were the first of the year, 3 Downy Woodpeckers, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, a pair of Northern Flickers,  5 Blue Jays, 7 Black-billed Magpies, 34 American Crows, 22 Common Ravens, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 34 American Robins, 11 European Starlings, 50 Evening Grosbeaks, 1 female Cassin’s Finch, 30  Pine Siskins, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos (1 hyamelis, 1 cismontanus and 2 montanus) and 5 male Red-winged Blackbirds.

14 hours (491) SSHA 1 (16), RTHA 1 (68), GOEA 3 (516) TOTAL 5 (858)

 

Friday, April 12 Steeples [Day 35] 1230-1745 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 10C, it was mostly calm with periodic light to moderate SE winds, and 40-80% cumulus cloud cover that gave partially sunny conditions and brought light rain at 1700. No migrant raptors were seen although non-migrants were very common, especially Turkey Vultures (13) and Bald Eagles (20: 9a, 2sa, 9j). Other non-migrants were 1u Northern Harrier, 1 adult Northern Goshawk and 1 adult Golden Eagle. Between 1300 and 1330 3 adult and 4 juvenile Bald Eagles interacted vigorously with intense chasing, dive-bombing, barrel-rolling and soaring behaviour. The speed and agility of the big birds as they chased and avoided each other was impressive.

5.25 hours (173) TOTAL 0 (688)

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2019
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   March 1-April 22 STEEPLES      March 1-April 22
DAYS  41  41  35
HOURS 466.6 491  173
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU)  1 0 3
OSPREY (OSPR) 0  0  0
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 195  180  212
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 1  13  1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA)  4 16 1
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA)  0 0 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 13 22 0
Accipiter sp. (UA) 0 0 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 0 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 0 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 9 68 8
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0 1 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 11 18 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 1 3 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2028 516 453
Eagle sp. (UE) 24 2 7
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0 0 0
MERLIN (MERL) 4 3 0
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1 5 0
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 3 0
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2 6 0
Falco sp. (UF) 1 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 4 1 0
       
TOTALS 2299 858 688

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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