Beaver Mines and Steeples, October 15

Thursday, October 15 Vicki Ridge [Day 26] 0810-1910 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge; and Gord Petersen (0825-1210) and Denise Cocciolone-Amatto, Pat Lucas and Raymond Toal (1337-1740) at the western edge of Kyllo Ridge at the Waterton 68 wellsite). The temperature at 0810 was -2C, the high at 1400 was 7C and it was 3C at 1910. Winds were WSW-W all day initially 20 km/h then gradually increasing to 20-30 gusting 50 km/h at 1300 and gusting to 60 km/h between 1700 and 1800 before dropping to 30 km/h at the end of observation. Cloud cover was 0-20% cumulus to 1100 after which it was 50-70% cumulus with altocumulus, lenticular and cirrus cloud developing after 1700 as the wind increased. Observing conditions were good throughout although wind-chill made watching uncomfortable in the afternoon. At Waterton 61 a total of 119 migrants of 10 species moved between 0816 and 1851 that comprised 5 Bald Eagles (4a, 1j), 1j female Northern Harrier, 8 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4a, 4u), 2a Cooper’s Hawks, 10 Northern Goshawks (6a, 2j, 2u), 3 Red-tailed Hawks (1a, 1j light morph calurus and 1 undifferentiated dark bird), 5 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 82 Golden Eagles (67a, 5sa, 10j), 1 unidentified eagle, 1 male American Kestrel and the first Gyrfalcon of the season, a grey morph adult male at 1235. The highest hourly count was 18 between 1400 and 1500 but movement was steady all day. At theWaterton 68 site observers counted 131 migrants of 7 species between 0828 and 1206, and between 1340 and 1736 that comprised 5 Bald Eagles (3a, 2j), 20 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4a, 1j 15u), 4u Cooper’s Hawks, 6 Northern Goshawks (1a, 3j, 2u), 1a dark morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 3 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 90 Golden Eagles (66a, 6sa, 13j, 5u) and 2 unidentified eagles. The highest single-hour count was 29 between 1500 and 1600 but movement was steady all day. The combined site count was 250 migrants of 10 species that moved between 0816 and 1851 and comprised a season-high 10 Bald Eagles (7a, 3j), 1j female Northern Harrier, 28 Sharp-shinned Hawks (8a, 1j, 19u), 6 Cooper’s Hawks (2a, 4u), a season-high 16 Northern Goshawks (7a, 5j, 4u), 4 Red-tailed Hawks (1a, 1j light morph and 1a dark morph calurus, and 1 undifferentiated dark bird), 8 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 172 Golden Eagles (133a, 11sa, 23j, 5u), 3 unidentified eagles, 1 male American Kestrel and the first Gyrfalcon of the season, a grey morph adult male at 1235. The highest hourly combined count was 44 between 1500 and 1600, but apart from 1200-1300 and 1800-1900 all hourly counts were in double-digits. Other bird species were 58 Snow Geese that moved to the north over Kyllo Ridge in two flocks: 50 at 1116 and 8 at 1136, 1 Canada Goose that flew high to the east at 1449, 1 Clark’s Nutcracker, 5 Black-billed Magpies, 18 American Crows, 37 Common Ravens, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 8 American Robins and a total of 250 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches at the Waterton 68 site that were the first for the season.

11 hours (275.7) BAEA 10 (69), NOHA 1 (24), SSHA 28 (861), COHA 6 (133), NOGO 16 (42), RTHA 4 (203), RLHA 8 (97), GOEA 172 (1584), UE 3 (8), AMKE 1 (14), GYRF 1 (1) TOTAL 250 (3119)

Thursday, October 15 Mount Lorette [Day 26] 0800-1915 (Graeme Dunlop assisted by Glenn Webber). A total of 226 migrant raptors of 7 species were seen between 0810 and 1905 that comprised 1 Osprey, 9 Bald Eagles (5a, 3sa, 1u), 3a Cooper’s Hawks, 3 Northern Goshawks (2a, 1j), 1 undifferentiated light morph Red-tailed Hawk, 5 Rough-legged Hawks (3 light, 2 dark), 203 Golden Eagles (103a, 16sa, 30j, 54u) and 1 Prairie Falcon.

11.25 hours (300.7), OSPR 1 (6), BAEA 9 (87), COHA 3 (19), NOGO 3 (49), RTHA 1 (58), GOEA 203 (2051), PRFA 1 (4) TOTAL 226 (2461)

Thursday, October 15 Steeples [Day 8] 1615-1730 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 12C winds were light SW and 50% cumulus cloud cover allowed sunny conditions. Four migrants were seen: 3 juvenile Bald Eagles and 1 unidentified eagle, all of which moved before 1638. A resident adult Golden Eagle soared above the ridges at 1704 and then executed a fairly spirited display flight.

1.25 hours (25.75) BAEA 3 (40), UE 1 (2) TOTAL 4 (82)