Mount Lorette (29 Sep 2022) 4 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 29, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 12 | 12 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 27 | 27 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 148 | 148 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 4 | 235 | 235 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch, Rick Robb |
Visitors:
10 visitors came by, including four with binoculars who wanted to help spot migrating eagles. We were sorry to disappoint them, but it was obvious that the weather was not cooperating. A female Belted Kingfisher fishing in the river provided some consolation.
Weather:
With cloudy skies most of the day, the temperature stayed in a narrow range, starting at 8C, and ending at 13C. There was very little wind at any level, ground, ridge, or high. The light ridge winds were mostly from the northeast, which is never very good for finding migrating eagles. Cloud cover was initially 100% altocumulus and altostratus, leaving the ridges clear and giving some hope that we’d see something. However, the clouds gradually lowered, and a soaking rain shower hit us around noon. There was a brief break in the clouds and the sun shone in mid-afternoon, again giving us hope for seeing some migrants, but after the clouds closed in again and rain started to fall at 1630 with continuing rain forecast, we abandoned the count for the day.
Raptor Observations:
In spite of the conditions, a few migrants were seen, although sadly no Golden Eagles. A Merlin flew up the river quickly in the morning. In the afternoon we saw a Northern Harrier, a juvenile Bald Eagle, and a Cooper’s Hawk all making their way south along the west side of the valley.
Non-raptor Observations:
Some of the smaller birds were more active today, including a Swamp Sparrow hiding in the willows, teasing us by calling constantly but giving us only very brief glimpses. Kinglets were numerous – 7 Ruby-crowned and at least 4 Golden-crowned. All three species of chickadee came by, accompanying the kinglets (2 Black-capped, 1 Mountain, 2 Boreal). 6 or more Red-breasted Nuthatches were making a fuss along the path. In addition to those there were 4 American Robins, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos, 2 Common Ravens, one Northern Flicker, 2 Belted Kingfishers (one male, one female), and the Ruffed Grouse serenaded us with his drumming as we left.
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]
