2025 Spring Count
The Spring 2025 Migration Count runs from March 6 to April 22 with observers at the Mount Lorette site daily. If interested in visiting the site we suggest that you visit after 3pm. We see the majority of migrating eagles later in the afternoon. This is the 32rd year of vigilant recording. Thank you to the observers and count coordinators.
See the Spring Count 2025 Daily Summaries
Mount Lorette (04 Apr 2025) 3 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 04, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 2 | 58 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 2 | 60 | 998 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 3 | 68 | 1082 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.17 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Sofia Preece |
Visitors:
A conference at a local hotel resulted in a number of groups of conference attendees passing by the site towards the end of the day. Each group of about 15 had a guide that was familiar with the area. In all, about 75 people stopped by.
Thanks to Ed for keeping us company while there was nothing to count.
Weather:
It was a beautiful day out at the count site, after a chilly start with the temperature at -10C. With no clouds to block the heat of the sun, and little wind, it soon warmed up and by mid-afternoon was 6C, dropping to 3C at the end when the sun was behind the west ridge. Ground wind was light most of the day with a few gusts up to 20kph in the late afternoon. Judging by the blowing snow on the ridges, there was no ridge wind early in the day, but it was blowing quite strongly from a westerly direction late in the day.
Raptor Observations:
The beautiful spring weather was offset by a surprising dearth of birds of any kind, particularly migrating raptors. Only two migrant Golden Eagles were seen all day – one juvenile being escorted away by ravens on the west ridge, and a lone adult that soared high over Patrick before zooming off to Lorette. One Sharp-shinned Hawk made an appearance.
The resident Golden Eagles showed up a couple of times during the day.
Non-raptor Observations:
20 or so American Robins made a welcome distraction in the meadow throughout the day. Besides the robins and the usual ravens, other birds were few and far between: one Black-billed Magpie, two Black-capped Chickadees, one Mountain Chickadee, and three European Starlings.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Mount Lorette (03 Apr 2025) 5 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 03, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 2 | 58 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 4 | 58 | 996 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 5 | 65 | 1079 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Lynette MacCulloch |
| Observers: | Neil Denton |
Visitors:
12 visitors came by, 6 stopped to chat.
Weather:
Arriving at the site in a bit of a snowstorm with only Mt Lorette visible, the start was delayed will 10:00.Temperatures started at minus 5 went up to plus 1 and then back down to minus 1 when we left. Almost complete cloud cover to start which cracked open in the middle of the sky with a bit of blue showing and spread to create a ring of clouds around the periphery. After the snow stopped were pelted with a bit of graupel. The mostly cumulus clouds came and went with almost imperceptible movement. There was no scudding across the valley more of a slow morphing from one shape to another as high winds were very low mostly from the North or North west and ridge winds occasionally could be seen moving the lower clouds from the North east. Ground winds were low from the North and Northeast. Once or twice the ground wind was from the west or south, always changing but always light.
Raptor Observations:
The first raptor seen was a Juvenile Bald eagle was flew across the valley west to east and then turned and flew up the river. The adult Bald eagle flew from the south right over top of us at tree top level when we had two visitors who were thrilled to see it. A Red-tailed Hawk flew south along the river in hunting mode. The actual migrating bird numbers were very low. There were 4 Golden Eagles ( 2a, 1sa, 1u) and 1 juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. Three of the eagles came from Patrick and one was seen over Skogan pass trying to climb before sailing off. they all flapped at some point as the wind was not helpful
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds seen at the site were: 5 Black-capped Chickadees 3 Dark -eyed Juncos 2 Starlings 4 Bohemian Waxwings 12 Ravens 10 Mallard Ducks 1 American Tree Sparrow !Song Sparrow ! Dipper 4 Robins 1 Hairy woodpecker
Predictions:
Hopefully tomorrow will be a more productive day if there is some wind.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Mount Lorette (02 Apr 2025) Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 02, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 2 | 58 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 54 | 992 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 0 | 60 | 1074 |
(No count conducted today)
Weather:
No count was conducted as snow and low cloud obscured the mountains all day.
Raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Observations:
Report submitted by Annie Finch (annie.finch@gmail.com)
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Mount Lorette (01 Apr 2025) 60 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 01, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 2 | 58 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 54 | 54 | 992 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 60 | 60 | 1074 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.87 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch |
Visitors:
Few people came by today. Only about six stopped to talk.
Weather:
It was a pleasant day weather-wise to start, with few clouds initially, but clouds built up throughout the day, advancing and retreating, occasionally throwing graupel at us, occasionally obscuring various parts of the ridges, then clearing up. As we were leaving, low clouds were closing in, seemingly from all sides. The temperature started out at -3C, rose to 6C, then fell to 2C at departure. Ground winds were calm until late afternoon when there were gusts over 20 kph from the northeast. The clouds were moving from the northwest most of the day, swinging around to west by day’s end. Ridge winds could not be ascertained.
Raptor Observations:
The first Golden Eagles were seen shortly after 1000, and the last just before 1800. Initially the observations flipped back and forth between the east ridge and west ridge, but after noon there was a steady progression of eagles flying high and fast over the east ridge. Later in the afternoon the ridge wind must have died down as the last few were needing powered flight to make progress. There was not much light as the sun was often behind clouds, and with the eagles flying against a backdrop of clouds it was difficult to age most of them. The total number of Golden Eagles was 54 (21a, 2sa, 1j, 2ui, 28u). In addition there were two Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa), one adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, two Red-tailed Hawks (one adult light morph and 1u dark morph), and one unidentified eagle.
The resident Golden Eagles were spotted in various places – hunting over Hummingbird Plume, doing display dives over Nakiska. An immature Bald Eagle (second year) flew low over our heads, and one or both of the local American Goshawks were seen and heard several times.
Non-raptor Observations:
There was a good variety of other birds: Trumpeter/Tundra Swan 4, Common Merganser 2, Ruffed Grouse 1 (drumming), Pileated Woodpecker 1, Northern Shrike 2, American Crow 4, Common Raven 8, Black-capped Chickadee 4, Mountain Chickadee 2, American Dipper 1, European Starling 6, Mountain Bluebird 2, Varied Thrush 2, American Robin 5
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Mount Lorette (31 Mar 2025) 85 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 31, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 17 | 56 | 56 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 61 | 938 | 938 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 85 | 1014 | 1014 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11 hours |
| Official Counter | Lori Anderson |
| Observers: | Xavier Gorloo |
Visitors:
Only 4 people stopped by the site today.
Weather:
A beautiful morning greeted us with surreal low-lying bands of fog hugging the sides of all the mountains in the valley. The starting temperature was -3C, rising to 5C between 3- 5 pm and down to 1C at the end of the count. At around 1 pm the SW ground winds switched 90° abruptly and started coming from the north. Ridge winds were seemingly nonexistent until later in the day. A colossal motionless cotton candy cloud formed over Mt. Collembola and only disappeared when other cumulus clouds crowded around it. The cloud coverage averaged about 90% cirrus, cumulus, and altostratus and a few lenticular clouds later in the day.
Raptor Observations:
Our first migrant of the day came just before 10 am but it wasnât an Eagle. It was a juvenile dark morph Red-tailed Hawk flapping low over our heads on its way north. The eagles migrating early in the day had to work hard, flapping and gliding low in the face of Wasootch and over to Lorette where they disappeared low behind the Hummingbird plume. One eagle landed below Tonyâs peak for about ten minutes before it moved on. In the afternoon luckily some wind picked up and they were able to glide in high from the southeast and come into Mt. Lorette at the pyramid, where they crossed the face and dropped behind Hummingbird plume. A few small kettles also formed around Lorette where they found some uplift. We had quite a variety of migrants today, 61 Golden Eagles (34a, 4sa, 2j, 20u, 1ui), 17 Bald Eagles (8a, 5sa, 4j), 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Prairie Falcon, 1 Unknown Accipiter, 1 Unknown Buteo, 1 unknown Eagle.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds present in the area were, 1 Northern Shrike, 1 Pileated woodpecker, a small flock of Common Golden-eyes, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 American Goshawk, 1 Varied Thrush, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 1 Northern Flicker, 2 American Dippers, 2 Canada Geese. 8+ Robins, many Ravens, 3 White-tailed Deer, and 1 Red Squirrel.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Mount Lorette (30 Mar 2025) 58 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 30, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 14 | 39 | 39 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 42 | 877 | 877 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 58 | 929 | 929 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Dan Parliament |
| Observers: | Xavier Gorloo |
Visitors:
Approximately 25 Visitors
Weather:
The temperatures varied between -9 degrees and +4 degrees Celsius throughout the day. The ground winds were initially calm (1-5 km/hr) and gradually increasing to 20-28 km/hr in the mid afternoon. The ground wind direction changed from the West to North in the afternoon. The ridge winds were assessed as low increasing to high. The day was generally sunny and warm, but at about 4 PM changed to cold and blustery.
Raptor Observations:
A total of 58 migrant raptors were observed. The Golden Eagle passage included 42 birds (27 adults and 15 unaged). The flight pattern was very erratic throughout the day and presented a challenge to the observers. The flight pattern commenced low through the face of Patrick with considerable flapping, followed by flight over the West ridges. At 1 PM a total of six Golden Eagles were observed in a kettle over Hummingbird Plume. The pattern shifted again at 2 PM to Lorette (which was partially obscured by cloud). The Patrick flight resumed at 3 PM, but at extremely high elevations with fast gliding and a monochrome gray sky making aging difficult to impossible. A surprising number of migrating Bald Eagles were observed at 14 (13 adult, 1 subadult). A total of five were observed at one time in a kettle East of Lorette. A single adult Red-tailed Hawk and a single unidentified Buteo were also counted. Many thanks to David F in the morning and Cindy P in the afternoon for assisting in the count. Special thanks to Xavier who shovelled out the site area after the snowfall of the past few days !
Non-raptor Observations:
American Goshawk x 1 (Resident), Hairy Woodpecker x 1, Pileated Woodpecker x 2, Northern Shrike x 1, Canada Jay x 1, Common Raven x 14, Black-capped Chickadee x 4, Mountain Chickadee x 2, European Starling x 1, Varied Thrush x 1, American Robin x 43, Trumpeter/Tundra Swan x 20,
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Mount Lorette (29 Mar 2025) Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 29, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 25 | 25 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 835 | 835 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 0 | 871 | 871 |
(No count conducted today)
Weather:
No count was conducted as snow and low cloud obscured the mountains all day.
Raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Observations:
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
