Beaver Mines and Steeples, March 18

Wednesday, March 18 Beaver Mines [Day 23] 0730-2000 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0730 was -9C, the high at 1400 was -5C and it was -7C at 2000. Winds were variable and 0-18 km/h to 1100 and then unhelpful NE-ENE 7-20 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was initially 100% stratus and cumulus that produced light snow until 0830 when there was 4 cm fresh on the ground. The sky then cleared with 80% cumulus at 1000 reducing to 10% at 1200, 0% at 1300 and 1400 and 30% at 1500 but a persistent ice crystal haze combined with the bright sunshine made observation difficult and very uncomfortable. After 1600 low stratus developed for the rest of the day that occasionally obscured the top of the ridge and light snow again developed late in the day. The unfavourable winds and general conditions produced only one migrant: an adult Golden Eagle that flapped to the NW at 1745, and a non-migrant adult Bald Eagle perched and flying low in the valley was the only other raptor seen. By contrast, 13 hours of observation by Bill Wilson at Mount Lorette produced 8 Bald Eagles (7a, 1sa) and 113 Golden Eagles (78a, 1sa, 4j, 30u). It is unlikely that these birds moved on the ridges between Beaver Mines and the Continental Divide as the cloud there was even lower and the ridges appeared to be obscured all day. It appears that, as happened for much of last spring, the main eagle migration route was deflected to west of the Divide, a supposition supported by high counts at Steeples yesterday and today. Other birds seen here were 1 male Common Merganser that flew high to the NE at 1928, 15 Rock Pigeons, 1 Eurasian Collared Dove, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 1 male Red-shafted Flicker, 1 Black-billed Magpie, a flock of 27 American Crows that flew high to the SW to roost at 1850, 7 Common Ravens, 6 Black-capped Chickadees, 10 Mountain Chickadees, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 2 White-breasted Nuthatches, 20 Evening Grosbeaks, 31 Pine Grosbeaks, 1 American Tree Sparrow and 31 Dark-eyed Juncos (1 hyemalis and 30 montanus).

12.5 hours (253.5) GOEA 1 (281) TOTAL 1 (439)

Wednesday, March 18 Steeples [Day 14] 1145-1930 (Vance Mattson). The temperature rose to a high of 6C from a low of 2C, winds were periodically light W but mainly calm and it was cloudless with occasional traces of cumulus. The pleasant weather produced a season-high total of 98 migrants that moved between 1248 and 1859. The flight comprised a season-high 12 Bald Eagles (3a, 2sa, 7j) and a season-high 85 Golden Eagles (78a, 2sa. 3j, 2u) and 1 unidentified eagle. Movement was steady with 15 migrants seen before 1400 and the next 3 hours produced 12, 20 and 18 birds respectively before a peak hour between 1700 and 1800 saw the passage of 29 birds: only 4 birds were seen after 1800. Movement was both high and low but became increasingly high as the day progressed. Soaring kettles of 5 birds occurred once and of 4 birds twice, but movement was mainly gliding at moderate speeds. Non-migrants were 7 Bald Eagles (5a, 1sa) that included one observed pair-flight; an early-returning adult Sharp-shinned Hawk (the earliest resident bird last year was March 31); a pair of resident light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks that soared low over the site at 1410 after which one bird undertook a long diagonal hunting stoop, and single adult resident Golden Eagles were seen on two occasions.

7.75 hours (53.25) BAEA 12 (40), GOEA 85 (199), UE 1 (1) TOTAL 98 (243)