The Golden Eagle Migration Count
Every fall Golden Eagles migrate from their breeding grounds north of us to wintering grounds to the south. In the spring they fly back to their breeding grounds. One of the main routes for this migration is along the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. At our watch site on the banks of the Kananaskis River near Mount Lorette, we count the passing eagles, and other raptors, for nearly eight weeks each spring and fall.
The Spring 2026 Migration Count runs from March 1 to April 22 with observers at the Mount Lorette site daily. We welcome visitors, and suggest that if you are interested in visiting the site then come in the mid-afternoon, which is when we typically see the highest number of eagles.
You can follow along with the count by reading the daily blog below, and you can learn more about Golden Eagles and the count by browsing the pages on this website. Got questions? We’ve got answers!
See the Spring Count 2026 Daily Summaries
Mount Lorette (11 Mar 2026) 5 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 11, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 12 | 12 |
| 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 | 2 | 134 | 134 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 5 | 156 | 156 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Dan Parliament |
| Observers: | Erk Gamboa, Neil Denton |
Visitors:
There were four visitors to the site today
Weather:
It was a spectacular day driving to the observation site in the morning as the mountains and clouds were bathed in a deep pink/red hue. It brought to mind the mariner�s wisdom �red sky in the morning is a sailor�s warning� which as events unfolded turned out to be an accurate prophecy! The opening temperature was -4 C with a daytime high of -1 C. Ground winds were from the SW at 1-5 km/ hr throughout the day with some periods of 6-10 km/ hr. The high winds were from the South at Medium (11-40 km/hr). At the start, the West ridges were slightly obscured at 20 % and the East ridges were completely clear, but the valley to the South appeared ominous. At 1100 hrs (MDT) the clouds lowered and the West ridges were obscured for the remainder of the day. The East ridges became intermittently obscured throughout the rest of the day playing �peekaboo� with the observers. Light snow commenced at 1100 hrs (MDT) and varied in intensity throughout the day. Tracking of the raptor flight was difficult as they appeared and disappeared in the clouds. The count was terminated at 1630 hrs (MDT) as the cloud cover lowered significantly and heavy snow commenced highlighting the arrival of the forecast storm front.
Raptor Observations:
A total of five raptors were observed during the day. The count was two Golden Eagles (one unaged and one subadult), two Bald Eagles (one adult and one subadult interpreted as a 4th year bird), and one unidentified eagle. The first Golden Eagle was observed at 1305 hrs (MDT). Two of the raptors were briefly observed low off the North flank of Patrick, two came from behind Patrick and were briefly observed over the �big smile�, and one over the bumps. Due to the low cloud, all of the observations were brief, as the birds flew in and out of the low cloud.
Non-raptor Observations:
The non-raptor species were as follows: Canada Goose x 2, Hairy Woodpecker x 1, Pileated Woodpecker x 1, Canada Jay x 1, Black-billed Magpie x 1, Common Raven x 12, Mountain Chickadee x 1, Pine Siskin x 19
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (10 Mar 2026) 29 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 10, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 10 | 10 |
| 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 | 27 | 132 | 132 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 29 | 151 | 151 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.78 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Graeme Dunlop, Peter Christensen |
Visitors:
About six people stopped to enquire about the count.
Weather:
The day started a little late as the recent snow resulted in very icy roads and very cautious drivers. Otherwise, it was a pleasant day at the site with little to no wind and sun shining most of the day, even if it was a bit on the cold side. Fresh snow decorated the landscape. The starting temperature was -10C, the high was -1C in the late afternoon, and it had cooled off to -3C by the time we left. It was partly cloudy with cumulus clouds most of the day. Ridge winds were in the range 30-40 kph from the southwest. High winds were moderate and initially from the west, but gradually veered around to the southwest by the end of the day.
Raptor Observations:
27 Golden Eagles (22a, 5u) and 2 adult Bald Eagles glided across the sky today. All were seen over the east ridge, flying at varying heights. Checking the west ridge, parts of which were fading into the clouds at times, yielded nothing.
Non-raptor Observations:
The Northern Pygmy-Owl was heard off and on during the morning, moving around out of sight, sometimes north of us and sometimes across the river. We speculated that its presence contributed to the lack of smaller birds in the area. Ravens were plentiful, with about a dozen seen. The local Bald Eagle couple showed up a couple of times. Other than that, there were a couple of Pine Siskins, one White-winged Crossbill heard, and two Black-capped Chickadees and a Red-breasted Nuthatch were found on the trail.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (09 Mar 2026) Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 09, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| 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 | 105 | 105 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 0 | 122 | 122 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 11:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 3 hours |
| Official Counter | Lori Anderson |
| Observers: | Caroline Lambert, Susan Wilberg |
Visitors:
Three visitors
Weather:
The eagle count was abandoned at 12:00 due to increasing snowfall and a bleak weather forecast. The count began at −7 �C and warmed slightly to −3 �C by noon. Ground winds were light, mainly from the west-southwest. Cloud cover ranged from approximately 50�100%, consisting of cumulus, cirrus, altostratus, and stratus clouds.
Raptor Observations:
None
Non-raptor Observations:
3 Ravens, 3 Canada geese on the river, a large flock of 60 Canada geese flying northward, 2 Black-capped chickadees.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (07 Mar 2026) 12 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 07, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 8 | 8 |
| 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 | 9 | 105 | 105 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 12 | 122 | 122 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Peter Christensen, Rachel James |
Visitors:
16 people stopped to inquire about the count. Thanks to Patrick Bulman, Lauren and the 4 others who stopped to look for migrants, come back anytime!
Weather:
The temperature was 8 C at the start of the count, then it rose to 9 and remained there for the rest of observation. Wind was from the SW, gusting over 30 km/h at valley bottom and up to 74 at ridge level. Cloud cover was 60-80%. Dark clouds clung to the Kananaskis Range to the west all day, and the strong wind blew a continuous sprinkle from there into the valley. Around 2 PM low, dark cloud started building in the valley to the south, and by 3:30 PM the storm began to overtake the western ridges and approach the site. The count was then concluded due to incoming weather.
Raptor Observations:
12 migrants including 9 Golden Eagles, 2 Bald Eagles, and 1 unidentified eagle were counted between 9:50 AM and 1:15 PM. They were flying very high and fast over the Fisher Range and down the middle of the valley. Two local Bald Eagles and one of the resident American Goshawks were also seen.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds were 25 Snow Geese migrating along the Fisher Range, 1 Common Merganser, 1 Ruffed Grouse, at least 7 Common Ravens, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 1 Mountain Chickadee, 1 Boreal Chickadee, 10 Bohemian Waxwings, 3 White-winged Crossbills, 5 Pine Siskins, 3 Dark-eyed Juncos.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (06 Mar 2026) 47 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 06, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| 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 | 43 | 96 | 96 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 47 | 110 | 110 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.33 hours |
| Official Counter | Ethan Denton, Ethan Denton |
| Observers: | Tiina Moore |
Visitors:
About 25 people walked the trail, a number of whom stopped to chat or help watch for raptors.
Weather:
A relatively nice day saw temperatures between 0 and 5 degrees, a mix of sun and cloud and pressure holding fairly steady throughout. Clouds were primarily cumulous and gathered behind the western ridge before drifting east towards the plains. Ground level winds proved briefly bothersome in the afternoon, but typically stayed around 1-3 Beaufort. The ridge winds were not observed as the Nakiska weather station website did not update today, but high winds blew clouds west at a steady pace all day.
Raptor Observations:
The unseasonal abundance of Golden Eagles not only continued, but actually more than doubled from yesterday. We finished with a total of 43 (28 adult, 15 unknown). Almost all GOEAs passed very high on the eastern flank, which combined with a mostly blue sky to make aging difficult. The first GOEA passed shortly after 11:00, and the hour block with the most birds was 15:00-16:00.
Three subadult Bald Eagles followed the same flightpath as their Golden counterparts, and an unidentified raptor (RLHA?) vanished behind the ridgeline before a concrete ID could be obtained.
The adult Goshawk cruised the eastern flank of the valley for much of the morning but was not seen after 11:00.
Non-raptor Observations:
Highlights for other birds included a male Hairy Woodpecker, small scattered flocks of White-winged Crossbills and Pine Siskins, a pair of Red Crossbills, and a Northern Pygmy-Owl which was heard singing a distance away. Two Big Horned Sheep summitted Mt. Patrick at 10:45 or so.
Report submitted by Ethan Denton (ethan@suechick.com)
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (05 Mar 2026) 22 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 05, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 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 | 19 | 53 | 53 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 22 | 63 | 63 |
| Observation start time: | 10:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Lynette MacCulloch |
| Observers: | Caroline Lambert, Greg Fudger, Yvette Fudger |
Visitors:
14 visitors stopped to chat and learn more about what we were doing. Huge thanks to Greg and Yvette Fudger who were very instrumental is seeing so many raptors!
Also thank you to Caroline for also helping spot for a couple of hours.
Weather:
The day at Hay Meadows started out very calm, almost no wind and almost complete cloud cover which became complete cloud cover of Stratus and some cumulonimbus until about 1:00, the the sun broke through and blue sky with cumulus clouds prevailed. There were frequent buildups of stormy clouds on the western horizons and we did have some obscuring of Mt Kidd, a few snow flakes and the Opal range was in and out of cloud all day. The wind gusted from time to time but generally was not more than a Beaufort scale of 1. the temperature started out at plus 1, went as high as plus 6 and was plus 4 at days end. T he eastern ridges were always clear, ridge winds were from the west or west south west and moderate, high winds were moderate to high from the west or north west.
Raptor Observations:
We observed 22 migrating raptors, the first one at 1:16 in the afternoon when the sky had begun to clear and the sun was warming things up. There was 1 unknown raptor sailing very fast overhead, 1 Bald eagle, 1 unknown eagle and 19 Golden eagles, 2unaged, 2 undifferentiated immature and 15 adults. Usually they were very high overhead or over Patrick, but about 4 were closer to the mountain tops, one even dipping below the Smiles on Patrick. The high eagles were not flapping, just sailing along rapidly. Besides the migrants we observed two mature Bald eagles flying low down the valley and later saw one of them flying north up the valley and then appearing to hunt near Patrick. We are guessing these are resident Bald eagles. Almost at the end of the day we observed an adult golden eagle flying south in front of Patrick also appearing to be in hunting mode.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds seen today were 7 Ravens, 4 Black-capped chickadees, 2 Mountain chickadees, 1 Boreal chickadee, 2 Canada Jays, 3 White-winged crossbills,1 Dipper, 2 Robins, and about 30 Bohemian Waxwings which flew up and down in front of us sometimes cutting it very close to us as if they were daring each other to get closer to the humans! Three Big Horn sheep rams were seen on top of Patrick early in the morning and a very healthy looking coyote ran across the meadow.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (04 Mar 2026) 11 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 04, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 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 | 10 | 34 | 34 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 11 | 41 | 41 |
| Observation start time: | 10:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Dan Parliament |
| Observers: | Greg Fudger, Peter Lloyd, Yvette Fudger |
Visitors:
Only two visitors stopped to chat, and observe the count process.
Weather:
It was a generally warm and calm day with temperatures fluctuating between +5 and +7 C. The ground winds were calm from the SW at generally 1-5 km/hr. Ridge winds were predominantly from the South, and judged as “low” or less than 10 km/hr. The high winds could not be measured as the Nakiska Ridge weather station was out of service for a portion of the day. The cloud cover was cumulus with cover ranging from 40-80 % and the ridgelines were clear all day.
Raptor Observations:
The first Golden Eagle migrant was observed at 1158 hrs. A total of 10 Golden Eagles were counted (Adults x 7, Unaged x 3). The migration path was incredibly high and fast (at least two binocular fields) above the East ridges. One unaged American Goshawk was observed flying steadily North through the valley.
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-Raptor sightings were as follows: Canada Goose x 1 Northern Pygmy-Owl x 1 (Heard) Pileated Woodpecker x 2 Canada Jay x 2 Common Raven x 8 Black-capped Chickadee x 3 Mountain Chickadee x 1 Bohemian Waxwing x 4 White-winged Crossbill x 6 Pine Siskin x 11
Long-tailed Weasel x 1
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
