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Beaver Mines, April 27

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Monday, April 27 Beaver Mines [Day 63] 0730-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0730 was 7C, the high at 1100 was 11C, but fell to 8C at 1300, recovered to 10.5C at 1400 and 1500, and then fell to 5C at 1800 where it remained for the rest of the day. Winds were W-WSW all day 35-45 gusting 50-60km to 1600 with the exceptions of 1100 and 1200 when they were 60-70 gusting 80-90 km/h; after 1600 winds moderated to 20-30 km/h. Cloud cover was 100-70% altostratus, altocumulus, cumulus and stratocumulus to 1900 apart from around 0900 when it briefly reduced to 10% cumulus. After 1900 it was 20-40% cumulus that allowed continuous bright sunshine. The ridges to the SW were obscured for much of the day and after 1145 a series of rain showers were blown from the SW that became steady light to moderate rain between 1530 and 1900. Raptor movement was very poor and only 8 migrants were seen between 1059 and 1356 with 5 of these birds recorded between 1343 and 1356. The count was 3u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks, 1 juvenile Golden Eagle, 1u American Kestrel and 1 adult male columbarius Merlin. Resident birds were the pair of Northern Harriers with the male hunting at 1347 and the female at 1405, and periodic sightings of usually single hunting Red-tailed Hawks to 1834 with only a single display flight at 0750. Other birds were 2 Canada Geese, 4 Mallards, 1 pair of Northern Pintails, 12 Rock Pigeons, 3 Mourning Doves, 1 pair of Sandhill Cranes, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 2 Hairy Woodpeckers, 2 Red-shafted Flickers, 2 Steller’s Jays, 3 Blue Jays, 2 Black-billed Magpies, 24 American Crows, 20 Common Ravens, 5 Tree Swallows, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 4 Mountain Chickadees, 9 American Robins, 36 European Starlings, 20 Evening Grosbeaks, a flock of 40 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew to the N at 1408, 1 Dark-eyed [montanus] Junco, 12 male Red-winged Blackbirds and the first female of the season, 2 male Common Grackles and 1 Orange-crowned Warbler which was the first for the season. Yesterday I forgot to report the first butterfly of the year, a Mourning Cloak, which was on the wing at 1113.

13 hours (793.2) SSHA 3 (115), RTHA 2 (274), GOEA 1 (1147), AMKE 1 (17), MERL 1 (28) TOTAL 8 (2211)

 

 

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2020
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   Feb. 23-April 27 STEEPLES      March 1-April 22
DAYS 45 63 45
HOURS 527.4 793.2 233.3
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0 12 2
OSPREY (OSPR) 3 10 1
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 167 365 134
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 4 42 1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 24 115 3
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9 22 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 21 50 1
Accipiter sp. (UA) 6 1 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 20 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 7 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 33 274 9
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1 4 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 10 63 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 7 9 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 1528 1147 329
Eagle sp. (UE) 17 0 2
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 3 17 0
MERLIN (MERL) 5 28 2
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0 4 1
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 14 1
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 3 7 0
Falco sp. (UF) 3 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 6 0 0
       
TOTALS 1850 2211 489

 


Beaver Mines, April 26

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Sunday, April 26 Beaver Mines [Day 62] 0730-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0730 was 5C, the high at 1700 was 14C and it was 10C at 2030. Winds were WSW-W all day 35-45 gusting 55 km/h that increased to gusts of 70-80 km/h between 1300 and 1600. Cloud cover was 20-100% continuously varying mixtures of altostratus, altocumulus, cirrus, cumulus and lenticular that allowed sunshine or hazy sunshine all day and gave excellent viewing conditions for the mainly high to very high flying migrants. There was a steady stream of 50 migrants of 13 species between 0909 and 2012 that comprised 1 adult Turkey Vulture, 4 Ospreys, 6 Bald Eagles (5a, 1j), 2u male Northern Harriers, 9 Sharp-shinned Hawks (2a, 7u), 4 Cooper’s Hawks (3a, 1u), 2 adult Northern Goshawks, 2 adult light morph Broad-winged Hawks, 2 light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks (1a, 1u), 12 Golden Eagles (1a, 4sa, 6j, 1u), 3 American Kestrels (2 female, 1 male), 1u male columbarius Merlin and 2 adult Peregrine Falcons (1 male, 1 female). Thirteen birds moved before noon and the highest hourly counts were 10 (1600-1700) and 9 (1700-1800). Resident birds were a pair of Northern Harriers with the male only seen displaying at 0755, and 2 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks that were frequently seen hunting; occasional interloping single adult birds were seen with soaring pairs and which generally evinced high energy displays by the affronted males. Other birds were 4 Canada Geese, 10 Rock Pigeons, 1 Mourning Dove,  2 pairs of Sandhill Cranes, 1 Downy Woodpeckers, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 5 Blue Jays, 19 American Crows, 15 Common Ravens, 4 Tree Swallows, 4 Mountain Chickadees, 21 American Robins, 6 European Starlings, 10 Evening Grosbeaks, a flock of 20 Pine Siskins that flew to the N at 1251 which were the first for the season, 3 Dark-eyed Juncos (1 cismontanus and 2 montanus), 6 male Red-winged Blackbirds, and 2 male Common Grackles. This afternoon Gord Petersen and Cathy Scrimshaw saw and photographed 2 Whimbrels south of the municipal land-fill site near Lundbreck: this is a new species for the study area.

13 hours (780.2) TUVU 1 (12), OSPR 4 (10), BAEA 6 (365), NOHA 2 (42), SSHA 9 (112), COHA 4 (22), NOGO 2 (50), BWHA 2 (20), RTHA 2 (272), GOEA 12 (1146), AMKE 3 (16), MERL 1 (27), PEFA 2 (14) TOTAL 50 (2203)

 

 

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2020
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   Feb. 23-April 26       STEEPLES         March 1-April 22
DAYS 45 62 45
HOURS 527.4 780.2 233.3
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0 12 2
OSPREY (OSPR) 3 10 1
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 167 365 134
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 4 42 1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 24 112 3
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9 22 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 21 50 1
Accipiter sp. (UA) 6 1 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 20 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 7 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 33 272 9
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1 4 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 10 63 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 7 9 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 1528 1146 329
Eagle sp. (UE) 17 0 2
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 3 16 0
MERLIN (MERL) 5 27 2
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0 4 1
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 14 1
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 3 7 0
Falco sp. (UF) 3 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 6 0 0
       
TOTALS 1850 2203 489

 

 

 

 


Beaver Mines, April 24

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Friday, April 24 Beaver Mines [Day 60] 0900-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0900 was 7C, the high at 1700 was 13.5C and it was 9.5C at 2030. The wind was W in the morning, light at 0900 then 20-30 gusting 40 km/h, and throughout the afternoon it was WSW 30-40 gusting 45 km/h. Cloud cover was variable 10-70% cumulus to 1430 after which 100% thin cirrostratus quickly developed that thickened to 100% grey altostratus after 1700 that made for a gloomy end to the day. A total of 16 migrant raptors of 7 species were counted between 1029 and 1856 that comprised 1 adult Turkey Vulture, 2 Northern Harriers (1 juvenile female and 1 adult male), 4u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 adult light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 3 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (1a and 1j light morphs, and 1 adult dark morph), 4 Golden Eagles (1a, 3j) and 1 adult female Peregrine Falcon. Movement was generally slow with maximum hourly counts of only 4 birds between 1700 and 1800 and again between 1800 and 1900. The evening gloom was enlivened, however, by the consecutive appearances of the Turkey Vulture at 1830, the Broad-winged Hawk at 1835 and the Peregrine Falcon at 1844 and suddenly it seemed that the day was not so bad after all! Other birds were 22 Canada Geese, 5 Mallards, 5 Green-winged Teal, 9 Rock Pigeons, the first Mourning Dove of the season, 1 Vaux’s Swift that flew fairly low near the site at 1124 for a first seasonal record and a first April record for the area, 8 Sandhill Cranes that fed SE of the creek and  a pair that flew high to the SW at 1246, 1 Great Blue Heron, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Red-shafted Flicker, 3 Steller’s Jays, 1 Blue Jay, 5 Black-billed Magpies, 16 American Crows, 12 Common Ravens, 3 Tree Swallows, 5 Mountain Chickadees, 11 American Robins, 6 European Starlings, 10 Evening Grosbeaks, 50 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew high to the WNW at 1402, 1 female Spotted Towhee that was a first for the season, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos (2 cismontanus and 2 montanus), 4 male Red-winged Blackbirds, and 1 male and 2 female Common Grackles.

11.5 hours (754.2) TUVU 1 (7), NOHA 2 (40), SSHA 4 (101) BWHA 1 (16), RTHA 3 (270), GOEA 4 (1126), PEFA 1 (12) TOTAL 16 (2129)

 

 

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2020
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   Feb. 23-April 24        STEEPLES         March 1-April 22
DAYS 45 60 45
HOURS 527.4 754.2 233.3
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0 7 2
OSPREY (OSPR) 3 6 1
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 167 357 134
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 4 40 1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 24 101 3
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9 17 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 21 48 1
Accipiter sp. (UA) 6 1 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 16 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 5 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 33 270 9
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1 4 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 10 63 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 7 9 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 1528 1126 329
Eagle sp. (UE) 17 0 2
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 3 12 0
MERLIN (MERL) 5 25 2
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0 4 1
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 12 1
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 3 6 0
Falco sp. (UF) 3 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 6 0 0
       
TOTALS 1850 2129 489

 


Beaver Mines, April 23

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Thursday, April 23 Beaver Mines [Day 59] 0900-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0900 was 9C, the high at 1400 was 14C and it was 9C at 2030. Winds were light NW to 1030, WSW-SW 20-35 gusting to 50 km/h to 1600, WNW-NW 20-30 km/h to 2000 and light W at 2030. Cloud cover was 100-60% cumulus, stratocumulus and cirrus to 1330, 20-40% scattered cumulus to 1700 that thickened to 70-90% dark cumulus at 1800 and 1900 and produced scattered showers and brief periods of light rain that stopped at 1930, and then cleared to 20-30% cumulus and altocumulus for the rest of the day. Much of the day saw hazy sunshine, and migration and observing conditions were again very good, producing a total of 35 migrant raptors of 12 species between 1227 and 1842. The count was 1 adult Turkey Vulture, 6 Bald Eagles (3a, 3j), 1u male Northern Harrier, 4u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 adult Northern Goshawk, 2u light morph Broad-winged Hawks, 1 adult light morph Swainson’s Hawk, 7 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (5a, 1j light morphs and 1a dark morph), 9 Golden Eagles (1a, 2sa, 6j), 1 adult male columbarius Merlin and 1 adult female Peregrine Falcon. Movement was initially slow but gradually increased with 21 birds moving after 1600 culminating in 9 being seen between 1809 and 1842. Resident birds were a pair of Northern Harriers and a single adult male that displayed alongside the other male at 1618 (the first display by a single male was seen at 0615!), 2 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks that were mainly seen hunting and 1 adult Golden Eagle that was seen twice. Other birds were 9 Canada Geese, 4 Mallards, 8 Green-winged Teal, a pair of Barrow’s Goldeneye, a pair of Common Mergansers, 7 Rock Pigeons, 1 pair of resident Sandhill Cranes and  a pair that flew high to the NE at 1334, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 3 Red-shafted Flickers, 3 Blue Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 18 American Crows, 6 Common Ravens, 4 Tree Swallows, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 3 Mountain Chickadees, 1 White-breasted Nuthatch, 9 American Robins, 4 European Starlings, 11 Evening Grosbeaks, 14 Pine Grosbeaks, 90 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew high to the N in 2 flocks at 1350 and 1444, 5 Dark-eyed Juncos (1 cismontanus and 4 montanus), 4 male Red-winged Blackbirds, and 2 male Common Grackles.

11.5 hours (742.7) TUVU 1 (6), BAEA 6 (357), NOHA 1 (38), SSHA 4 (97), NOGO 1 (48), BWHA 2 (15), SWHA 1 (5), RTHA 7 (267), RLHA 1 (63), GOEA 9 (1122), MERL 1 (25). PEFA 1 (11) TOTAL 35 (2113)

 

 

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2020
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   Feb. 23-April 23 STEEPLES      March 1-April 22
DAYS 45 59 45
HOURS 527.4 742.7 233.3
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0 6 2
OSPREY (OSPR) 3 6 1
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 167 357 134
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 4 38 1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 24 97 3
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9 17 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 21 48 1
Accipiter sp. (UA) 6 1 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 15 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 5 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 33 267 9
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1 4 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 10 63 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 7 9 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 1528 1122 329
Eagle sp. (UE) 17 0 2
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 3 12 0
MERLIN (MERL) 5 25 2
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0 4 1
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 11 1
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 3 6 0
Falco sp. (UF) 3 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 6 0 0
       
TOTALS 1850 2113 489

 

 

 

 


Beaver Mines and Steeples, April 22

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Wednesday, April 22 Beaver Mines [Day 58] 0600-2100 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0600 was 5.5C, the high at 1600 was 14 C and it was still 9C at 2100. Winds were WSW all day 30-45 gusting to 65 km/h and cloud cover was 70-100% altostratus, cirrus, cumulus, altocumulus and lenticular with the exception of 1000 when it briefly reduced to 30% cirrus and altocumulus. There was hazy sunshine for most of the day and migration and observing conditions were excellent. A total of 52 migrant raptors of a season-high 14 species moved steadily between 0754 and 1942 that comprised 2 adult Turkey Vultures, 2 Ospreys, 1 adult Bald Eagle, 2 male Northern Harriers (1j, 1u), 14 Sharp-shinned Hawks (3a, 11u), 3 Cooper’s Hawks (1a, 2u), 4 Northern Goshawks (3j, 1u), 5 adult Broad-winged Hawks (4 light, 1 dark). 4 of which soared high above the ridge with 6 ravens at 1942 and were the last migrants of the day, 1 adult light morph Swainson’s Hawk, only 2 adult calurus Red-tailed Hawks (1 light, 1 dark), 1 dark morph unidentified Buteo, 8 Golden Eagles (2a, 1sa, 4j, 1u), 2u American Kestrels, 2 female columbarius Merlins and 3 Peregrine Falcons (1 adult female, 1 adult male and 1u male). The highest single-hour count was 1500-1600 when 13 migrants were seen. Non-migrant birds were a pair and a single adult male Northern Harrier, 2 or 3 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks and 1 adult Golden Eagle. We have decided to extend the Beaver Mines count for a few more days or until the current significant movement has ended. At Mount Lorette Blake Weis reported 17 migrants of 5 species in 11 hours of observation that comprised 4 Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa and 2 undifferentiated immatures), 2u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1u Cooper’s Hawk, the season’s first Ferruginous Hawk, an adult dark morph, and 9 Golden Eagles (3sa, 1j, 5u). Other birds seen at Beaver Mines were 5 Canada Geese, 13 Mallards, 10 Green-winged Teal, 1 male Common Merganser, 32 Rock Pigeons, 1 pair of resident Sandhill Cranes and 2 pairs that flew high to the SW at 1646 and 1836, 1 Wilson’s Snipe, 1 Red-shafted Flicker, 1 Steller’s Jay, 3 Blue Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 20 American Crows, 27 Common Ravens, 4 Tree Swallows 8 Black-capped Chickadees, 6 Mountain Chickadees, 8 American Robins, 4 European Starlings, 17 Evening Grosbeaks, 7 Pine Grosbeaks, 406 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew high to the NNW in 6 flocks between 0952 and 1626, 4 Dark-eyed [montanus] Juncos, 6 male Red-winged Blackbirds, and 2 male Common Grackles.

15 hours (731.2), TUVU 2 (5), OSPR 2 (6), BAEA 1 (351), NOHA 2 (37), SSHA 14 (93), COHA 3 (17), NOGO 4 (47), BWHA 5 (13), SWHA 1 (4), RTHA 2 (260), UB 1 (9), GOEA 8 (1113), AMKE 2 (12), MERL 2 (24), PEFA 3 (10), TOTAL 52 (2078)

 

April Summary Beaver Mines to April 22 (with percentage variance compared to 2015-2019 average) 22 days (+5.8%), 306.5.5 hours (+46.5%) TUVU 5 (+212.5%), OSPR 6 (+87.5), BAEA 127 (+30.7%), NOHA 32 (-17.1%), SSHA 74 (-39.1%), COHA 13 (+20.4%), NOGO 15 (-19.4%), UA 0, BWHA 13 (+62.5%), SWHA 4 (+53.8%), RTHA 233 (-62.3%), FEHA 3 (-6.3%), RLHA 12 (-48.7%), UB 8 (-7%), GOEA 218 (+2.1%), UE 0, AMKE 12 (+53.8%), MERL 19 (+111.1%), GYRF 2 (-25%), PEFA 7 (+6.1%), PRFA 1 (-68.8%), UF 0, UU 0 TOTAL 804 (+22.2%)

Beaver Mines spring 2020 summary February 23-April 22 (With percentage variance from the 5-year average 2015-2019). 58 days (+14.6%), 731.2 hours (+56.7%), TUVU 5 (+127.3%), OSPR 6 (+87.5%), BAEA 351 (+30.5%), NOHA 37 (-22.6%), SSHA 93 (+44.4%), COHA 17 (+41.7%), NOGO 47 (-4.9%), UA 1 (-28.6%), BWHA 13 (+51.2%), SWHA 4 (+42.9%), RTHA 260 (+36.7%), FEHA 4 (-25.9%), RLHA 62 (-22.1%), UB 9 (-31.8%), GOEA 1113 (+3.5%), UE 0, AMKE 12 (+20%), MERL 24 (+55.8%), GYRF 4 (-33.3%), PEFA 10 (+25%), PRFA 6 (-16.7%), UF 0, UU 0  TOTAL 2078 (+10.7%) of 18 species.

[The Beaver Mines figures will be updated when the count ends]

April Summary Mount Lorette (with percentage variance compared to 1993-2019 average excluding the anomalously low counts in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012) 20 days (-5.54%), 243 hours (-0.8%) TUVU 0, OSPR 3 (+56.8%), BAEA 92 (+28.3%), NOHA 4 (+1.1%), SSHA 21 (-1%), COHA 9 (+55.6%), NOGO 15 (+30.7%), UA 6 (+283%), BWHA 0, SWHA 0, RTHA 27 (+6.7%), FEHA 1 (+475%), RLHA 8 (-42.3%), UB 2 (+43.8%), GOEA 367 (-28.6%), UE 1 (-42.5%), AMKE 3 (+176%), MERL 5 (+12.7%), GYRF 0, PEFA 0, PRFA 2 (+84%), UF 2 (+318%), UU 5 (+271%) TOTAL 573 (-16.3%)

Mount Lorette spring 2020 summary March 1-April 22 (With variance from the long-term 1993-2019 23-year average, that excludes the anomalously low counts in 2008-2010 and 2012 which are considered invalid). 45 days (-9.7%), 527.4 hours (-5.3%), TUVU 0, OSPR 3 (+56.8%), BAEA 167 (-9.1%), NOHA 4 (-14%), SSHA 24 (+0.7%), COHA 9 (+39.9%), NOGO 21 (-6.4%), UA 6 (+200%), BWHA 0, SWHA 0, RTHA 33 (+10.2%), FEHA 1 (+475), RLHA 10 (-47.7%), UB 7 (+228.6%), GOEA 1528 (-46.8% and the lowest valid spring count ever), UE 17 (+194%), AMKE 3 (+176%), MERL 5 (-24.8%), GYRF 0, PEFA 0, PRFA 3 (+43.8%), UF 3 (+245%), UU 6 (+193.6%) TOTAL 1850 (-42% and the lowest valid spring count ever) of 13 species

Wednesday, April 22 Steeples [Day 45] 1300-1700 (Vance Mattson).  Observation was from the Wolf Creek site where the temperature was 16C, it was calm with intermittent E winds and cloud cover was 100% altostratus and dark cumulus. No migrants were seen and non-migrants were 2 Bald Eagles and the resident Golden Eagle pair. There was a lengthy and impressive sky-dancing display by the male Golden Eagle that ranged over 1.5 km and 1000 m of elevation, dropping almost to the valley floor.

4 hours (233.3) TOTAL 0 (489)

 

Steeples April summary to April 22 (With percentage variance from the 10-year average 2010-2019). 20 days (+66.7%), 102 hours (+112.4%), TUVU 2 (-73.7%), OSPR 1 (-23.1%), BAEA 36 (+26.3%), NOHA 1 (+100%), SSHA 3 (-23.1%), COHA 0, NOGO 0, UA 0, BWHA 0, SWHA 0, RTHA 5 (-37.5%), FEHA 0, RLHA 2 (+33.3%), UB 0, GOEA 29 (-18.8%), UE 0, AMKE 0, MERL 2 (first spring records for the site), GYRF 0, PEFA 1 (+100%), PRFA 0, UF 0, UU 0 TOTAL 82 (-8.8%).

Steeples spring 2020 summary (With percentage variance from the 10-year average 2010-2019). 45 days (+33.9%), 233.3 hours (+67.6%), TUVU 2 (-76.7%), OSPR 1 (-23.1%), BAEA 134 (-6.8%), NOHA 1 (+42.9), SSHA 3 (-66%), COHA 0, NOGO 0, UA 0, BWHA 0, SWHA 0, RTHA 8 (-32.1%), FEHA 0, RLHA 3 (-45.5%), UB 0, GOEA 329 (-7.7%), UE 2 (+28.6%), AMKE 0, MERL 2 (first spring records for the site), GYRF 1 (first spring record for the site), PEFA 1 (+25%), PRFA 0, UF 0, UU 0 TOTAL 489 (-9.2%) of 11 species.

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2020
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   Feb. 23-April 22 STEEPLES      March 1-April 22
DAYS 45 58 45
HOURS 527.4 731.2 233.3
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0 5 2
OSPREY (OSPR) 3 6 1
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 167 351 134
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 4 37 1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 24 93 3
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9 17 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 21 47 1
Accipiter sp. (UA) 6 1 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 13 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 4 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 33 260 9
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1 4 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 10 62 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 7 9 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 1528 1113 329
Eagle sp. (UE) 17 0 2
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 3 12 0
MERLIN (MERL) 5 24 2
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0 4 1
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 10 1
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 3 6 0
Falco sp. (UF) 3 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 6 0 0
       
TOTALS 1850 2078 489

 


Beaver Mines and Steeples, April 21

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Tuesday, April 21 Beaver Mines [Day 57] 0615-2045 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0615 was 8C, the high at 1500 and again at 1700 was 16C and it was 12C at 2045. Winds were WSW-W all day 30-45 gusting to 70 km/h and it was cloudless to 1600 except for between 1230 and 1415 when up to 10% cumulus developed and after 1600 it was 80-100% altostratus, cirrus and cumulus. A total of 55 migrant raptors of 11 species were recorded between 0851 and 1921 that comprised 3 Ospreys, 2 adult Bald Eagles, 4 Northern Harriers (2 juvenile females and 1j and 1u males), 11 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4a, 1j, 6u), 2 Cooper’s Hawks (1a, 1u), 2 Northern Goshawks (1j, 1u), 4 light morph Broad-winged Hawks (3a, 1j) that included a small high-soaring kettle of 3 birds at 1915, 10 light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks (9a, 1u), 1 adult light morph Ferruginous Hawk, 14 Golden Eagles (2a, 1sa, 10j, 1u) and 2 columbarius Merlins (1 male, 1u). Movement was initially slow with only 3 birds seen before 1100 but subsequently migration was steady and peaked at 10 birds between 1700 and 1800. Resident birds were a pair of Northern Harriers and a single adult male that were conspicuous between 0705 and 1856, and 2 or 3 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks the last sighting of which was a hunting bird high above the ridge at 2036. At Mount Lorette Dan Parliament reported 34 migrants of 5 species in 13.92 hours of observation that comprised 6 Bald Eagles (4a, 2sa), 1u Northern Harrier, 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1u Northern Goshawk, and 25 Golden Eagles (4a, 5sa, 4j, 12u). Most birds were flying very high across the valley from the northern end of the Fisher Range to Mount Lorette and they were difficult to locate and age. Other birds seen at Beaver Mines were 8 Canada Geese, 5 Mallards, 4 Green-winged Teal, 1 male Barrow’s Goldeneye, 6 Rock Pigeons, 1 pair of resident Sandhill Cranes and 2 migrants that flew high to the NNW at 1329, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Red-shafted Flicker, 2 Steller’s Jays, 1 Blue Jay, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 35 American Crows, 16 Common Ravens, 4 Tree Swallows 4 Black-capped Chickadees, 4 Mountain Chickadees, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets that were new for the year, 6 American Robins, 10 European Starlings, 20 Evening Grosbeaks, 11 Pine Grosbeaks, 80 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew high to the NNW at 1738, 7 Dark-eyed Juncos (1 cismontanus and 6 montanus), 6 male Red-winged Blackbirds, and 2 male and 1 female Common Grackles that were also new for the year.

Tomorrow will be the last day of the spring 2020 count at all three sites.

14.5 hours (716.2) OSPR 3 (4), BAEA 2 (350), NOHA 4 (35), SSHA 11 (79), COHA 2 (14), NOGO 2 (43), BWHA 4 (8), RTHA 10 (258), FEHA 1 (4), GOEA 14 (1105), MERL 2 (22) TOTAL 55 (2026)

 

Tuesday, April 21 Steeples [Day 44] 1300-1600 (Vance Mattson). The temperature reached 19C, winds were strong SW and it was cloudless. No migrants were seen and resident birds were 15 Turkey Vultures and a pair of Red-tailed Hawks one of which performed a display flight. Vultures and hawks were constantly seen in the air during the observation period.

3 hours (229.3) TOTAL 0 (489)

 

 

SUMMARY  COUNTS, SPRING 2020
  MOUNT LORETTE March 1-April 22 BEAVER MINES   Feb. 23-April 22       STEEPLES         March 1-April 22
DAYS 44 57 44
HOURS 516.4 716.2 226.3
TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0 3 2
OSPREY (OSPR) 3 4 1
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 163 350 134
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 4 35 1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 22 79 3
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 8 14 0
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 21 43 1
Accipiter sp. (UA) 6 1 0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0 8 0
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0 3 0
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 33 258 9
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0 4 0
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 10 62 3
Buteo sp. (UB) 7 8 0
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 1519 1105 329
Eagle sp. (UE) 17 0 2
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 3 10 0
MERLIN (MERL) 5 22 2
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0 4 1
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0 7 1
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 3 6 0
Falco sp. (UF) 3 0 0
Unidentified Raptor (UU) 6 0 0
       
TOTALS 1833 2026 489

 

 

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