Beaver Mines and Steeples, March 9

Monday, March 09 Beaver Mines [Day 16] 0745-2000 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0745 was -10C, the high from 1500 to 1700 was 0C and at 2000 it was -3C. Winds were moderate SW all day, 15-30 gusting 40 km/h, and it was completely cloudless to 1900 when 10-20% altocumulus and cumulus cloud developed. There was a fairly strong raptor movement involving a season-high total of 85 migrants of 5 species between 0831 and 1726 when the stream suddenly stopped with no apparent change in the favourable migration conditions. The flight comprised 12 Bald Eagles (10a, 1 late subadult and 1j), 1 adult Northern Goshawk, 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk that was the first for the season, 3 light morph Rough legged Hawks and a season-high 68 Golden Eagles (65a, 2sa, 1j). Fifty-nine birds moved between 1500 and 1726 with a high single-hour count between 1500 and 1700 of 29 birds that included 26 Golden Eagles. The count at Mount Lorette today was 5 Bald Eagles and a season-high 164 Golden Eagles which may represent the backlog of birds that had been seen here but were held up by poor weather conditions farther north. Other birds seen were 11 Rock Pigeons, 1 Eurasian Collared Dove, 3 Downy Woodpeckers, 2 Steller’s Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 1 American Crow, 39 Common Ravens, 6 Black-capped Chickadees, 10 Mountain Chickadees, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1 male Eastern Bluebird that is a first spring record and only the second record for the area, 2 male Western Bluebirds, 7 European Starlings, 5 Evening Grosbeaks, 50 Pine Grosbeaks, 1 Snow Bunting and 25 Dark-eyed Juncos (1 cismontanus and 24 montanus).

12.25 hours (167.3) BAEA 12 (87), NOGO 1 (8), RTHA 1 (1), RLHA 3 (33), GOEA 68 (158) TOTAL 85 (290)

Monday, March 09 Steeples [Day 7] 1530-1830 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 3C, condition were calm and cloud cover was 30% cirrus, cumulus and thin altostratus. A season-high total of 22 migrants were seen between 1530 and 1801 comprising 10 Bald Eagles (5a, 2sa, 3j) and 12 Golden Eagles (10a, 1sa, 1j). Eight of the eagles, of which 7 were Bald Eagles, were seen between 1530 and 1600 and it is likely that there was significant movement before 1530. In the calm conditions birds soared and moved slowly to the north usually in groups of 2 to 4. Non-migrants were 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1j), two sightings of single resident Golden Eagles and an adult Northern Goshawk.

3 hours (20.25) BAEA 10 (14), GOEA 12 (23) TOTAL 22 (38)