Fall Migration Count 2026
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 Fall 2026 Migration Count runs from September 20 to November 15 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!
Mount Lorette (21 Sep 2026) 9 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 21, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 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 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 9 | 15 | 15 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9 hours |
| Official Counter | Lori Anderson |
| Observers: | Sandy Graham |
Visitors:
About 40 people came to the area, and 15 or so stopped to query. A special thanks to Oliver and Steph Hobbs from Leeds Yorkshire UK, who came at just the right moment and helped us spot an Eagle.
Weather:
It was a beautiful summer day, beginning at a chilly 5�C in the morning and gradually warming to a high of 20�C around 4:00 p.m., before dropping to 18�C by the end of the day. Despite the cool start, later it became quite hot in the sunshine and felt like summer finally. The sky remained almost completely clear throughout the day. In the morning, there was only a minuscule amount of lenticular cloud visible to the north of the valley, which quickly disappeared. The ridges remained completely unobscured all day. There was a slight haze, possibly from smoke from a distant wildfire. The morning was calm, but SW winds picked up later in the day, averaging around 6 km/h with occasional gusts reaching 20 km/h. Ridge winds were predominantly from the south-southwest for most of the day, generally at moderate speeds.
Raptor Observations:
Today we found 4 Golden Eagles: 1a, 2sa and 1u. The first one of the day was spotted gliding near Mt. Lorette at 12:20. It took the typical Eastern route over to Patrick, then wove through the “bumps” on Fisher North and on southward. The other 3 Goldens followed suit. A Juvenile Goshawk flew close, right over our heads and crossed the river to perch on a tree for a few minutes. Other raptors seen were: 1 Broad-winged Hawk and 3 Falcon sp. A resident Golden Eagle flew into the face of Mt. Patrick, stopping briefly at one location before continuing to a second, where it remained.
Non-raptor Observations:
1 Northern Flicker, 1 Common Yellowthroat, 1 Dark-eyed Junco, 1 Mountain Chickadee, 1 American Robin, 2 Tree Swallows, 1 Barn Swallow, 9 Ravens, 1 Common Merganser. Apart from the birds, a smorgasbord of flying insects filled the air. A white-spotted sawyer beetle spent some time investigating a backpack, and a Mourning cloak Moth decided that I was to be a great source of minerals and who knows what else. It sat on my hand and proceeded to “lick” me with its proboscis for about 20 minutes. It felt like little ice cubes were being deposited with every probe.
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 (20 Sep 2026) 5 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 20, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 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 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9 hours |
| Official Counter | Lynette MacCulloch |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
There was a large number of people who went by, 82, but less than 10 stopped to talk. We did get some assistance in searching for raptors from Justin, Tatiana and Wen who spent a good half hour with us and then later Malcolm and Lacie joined us for some sky searching.
Christa Clifford was the Official Assistant Observer for the day.
Weather:
Today was a beautiful one, sunshine, cloudless blue sky, light winds and trees wearing their brilliant fall colours.
The temperature was 8 degrees upon arrival got up to 17 by 4 pm and then back to 16 at home time.By 4 pm there also was a collection of thin cirrus clouds in the western sky. Ground winds were non-existent but did pick up to 10 km /hr before dropping away in the evening. Ridge winds were light, the strongest gust 40km/hr With no clouds it was hard to judge the high winds, but mid afternoon we observed a Buteo sailing quite quickly almost over head indicating high winds of at least moderate speed.
Raptor Observations:
No eagles were observed but a Shar-shinned Hawk,2 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 unidentified Falcon and 1 unidentified Buteo were seen migrating. A Red-tailed hawk and separately a Sharp-shinned hawk were seen hunting several times around Hummingbird and Nakiska.
Non-raptor Observations:
The day was quiet birdwise. The Dipper was in the pond early in the morning, 2 Common Yellowthroats, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, 3 Black capped Chickadees, 13 American robins, 2 Barn Swallows, 7 Ravens, 1 common Merganser, and several flocks of Little Brown Birds were seen flying around the valley. Two rocky Mountain rams were seen on top of Patrick in the Big Smile. People were spotted on both Patrick and Mt Lorette
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 (22 Apr 2026) Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 22, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 30 | 92 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 11 | 13 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 24 | 32 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 111 | 1137 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Total: | 0 | 199 | 1323 |
(No count conducted today)
Weather:
No observation due to low clouds and rain.
Raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Observations:
Report submitted by Caroline Lambert (caroline144@gmail.com)
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Mount Lorette (21 Apr 2026) 15 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 21, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 30 | 92 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 11 | 13 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 6 | 24 | 32 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 5 | 111 | 1137 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Total: | 15 | 199 | 1323 |
| Observation start time: | 08:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Graeme Dunlop |
| Observers: | Allison Zukewich |
Visitors:
3 people stopped to ask about the eagles.
Weather:
The last day of the Spring count was sunny and warm. The temperature at 0945 was 10C and the high at 1400 was 16C. Ground winds were light SE-W all day. The skies were mainly blue with 10 to 30% cumulus and cirrus.
Raptor Observations:
Despite the generally good viewing conditions only 15 migrant raptors of 4 species were seen, comprising 3 adult Bald Eagles, 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 6 Red-tailed Hawks and 5 Golden Eagles (4a, 1u). Non-migrants were 3a Bald Eagles, 1a American Goshawk, 1 pair of Red-tailed Hawks and 1 Golden Eagle.
Non-raptor Observations:
The highlight was a pair of Sandhill Cranes circling noisily overhead. Other birds were: 2 Canada Geese, 3 Mallards, 2 Common Mergansers, 1 Ruffed Grouse, 2 Northern Flickers, 2 American Crows, about 20 Common Ravens, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 1 Mountain Chickadee, 7 Tree Swallows, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1 Townsend’s Solitaire, 6 American Robins, 2 Fox Sparrows, 2 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 (20 Apr 2026) 7 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 20, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 27 | 89 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 10 | 12 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 18 | 26 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 3 | 106 | 1132 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| Total: | 7 | 184 | 1308 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Lynette MacCulloch |
| Observers: | Peter Lloyd, Susan Wilberg |
Visitors:
6 visitors came by , Linda and Richard stayed and watched for a while. Thanks to Dana again for coming out, and of course thanks to Caroline for dropping by.
Weather:
A very warm day at Hay Meadows. The temperature started at 10 degrees and went up to 14.Very little cloud, some fluffy cumulus, high cirrus and as the day wore on lenticular clouds formed over the eastern slopes making lovely shapes. A thin, crescent moon rose over Patrick and disappeared into the blue sky. Ground winds were light from the southwest but switched back and forth between southwest and southeast and increased to 11km/hr. at times. Ridge winds were from the west at 25 km/hr. Later in the day the winds would gust up to 40 km/hr. High winds were moderate from the west and increased in speed as the day progressed.
Raptor Observations:
Seven migrating raptors were seen, 2 Adult Bald eagles, 3 Golden eagles(1a, 1j, 1 undifferentiated immature) 1 adult Red-tailed Hawk and 1 unknown raptor. All the birds started on the east side of the valley. the adults kept on going towards Lorette, the younger ones came across the valley to the west side. The unknown raptor was seen on the west side of the valley flying rapidly before being lost to sight. A resident adult Bald eagle spent some time flying over the valley and was in hunting behavior on the east side. the resident Red-tail hunted on the west side of the valley and a Merlin flew south on the west side of the valley also in hunting mode.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds seen or heard were 2 Varied Thrushes, 3 Fox sparrow, 4 Juncos, 4 Black-capped chickadees, 10 Ravens, 2 Northern Flickers, 2 ruby-crowned Kinglets, 6 Canada Geese, 4 Mallards, 12 Bohemian Waxwings, 3 Robins, 1 Ruffed Grouse, a Female Mountain Bluebird, 2 Tree Swallows and a Kingfisher. A Green Comma butterfly flitted around for a while, hopefully didn’t get eaten.
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 (19 Apr 2026) 9 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 19, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Osprey | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 25 | 87 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 10 | 12 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 17 | 25 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 5 | 103 | 1129 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Total: | 9 | 177 | 1301 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Ethan Denton |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
56 people walked by, of which a dozen stopped to talk. Thanks to Christine for staying and watching for a bit!
Weather:
Beautiful amd balmy! Temperatures rose to 10�C, and ground winds stayed low throughout. A mix of clouds included cumulus, cirrus, stratus and lenticular, but never covered more than half the sky at a time. Ridge winds were mostly around 25km/h.
Raptor Observations:
The eagles that did come through did so singly and well-spaced. Three went over the Eastern ridge, and two moved high across the west. Also migrating were three Red-tailed Hawks, and the season’s first Osprey, which appeared wheeled northwards left of Lorette.
Local birds included two adult Bald Eagles, one Golden, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, and a Merlin which spent a lot of breath harassing one of the migrant Red-tails.
Non-raptor Observations:
The bird of the day was probably a flamboyant (loud) Red-naped Sapsucker. Tree Swallows flew up and down the river throughout the afternoon, and a female Mountain Bluebird showed briefly. Three Northern Pintail whistled high over the ridgeline, a Pacific Wren popped by and the usual handful of sparrow species could be heard singing all morning.
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]
