Mount Lorette (27 Sep 2022) 17 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 27, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 27 | 27 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 14 | 142 | 142 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 17 | 221 | 221 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.83 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Ian Dowson |
Visitors:
33 people came by in small groups, many eager to learn about the count, and a few with binoculars to help spot, which is always appreciated.
Weather:
It was unseasonably warm, with a starting temperature of 4C, and a high of 22C. It had cooled to 15C when we left. The sky was mostly blue with a few cirrus clouds that helped making spotting a bit easier in the afternoon. Winds were light all day on the ground, and there was just enough ridge wind that the migrants could fly mostly without soaring.
Raptor Observations:
It was a disappointing day for migrants as there was sufficient ridge wind for movement, and no obvious weather system to the north to hinder progress. A total of 17 migrants were seen: 14 Golden Eagles (8a, 1sa, 5u), 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and one small accipiter.
The best bird of the day was a juvenile dark morph Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk that flew low over us and hunted for a few minutes along the power line on the other side of the meadow. Other non-migrants were a Bald Eagle that flew high and fast across the valley and disappeared over the east ridge, an adult Red-tailed Hawk that hunted on the west side of the valley, the usual resident Northern Goshawk, and an adult Golden Eagle that did some display flights in front of Patrick.
Non-raptor Observations:
If the number of migrants was disappointing, it was more so for the smaller birds. Apart from the ever present ravens (about nine of those), three robins were detected early in the morning and no non-raptors were seen after that.
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]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
