Mount Lorette (02 Oct 2022) 45 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 02, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 2 | 31 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 37 | 103 | 258 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Total: | 45 | 123 | 374 |
| Observation start time: | 06:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Glenn Webber |
Visitors:
50 visitors came out to Hay Meadow, 4 brought binoculars and helped spot migrants.
Weather:
Once again it was a clear and warm day with a high of 19C and a low of 1C. Wind was light to moderate from the NNE at valley bottom and ridge level.
Raptor Observations:
The first three eagles were soaring over the Fisher Range around 8:30 AM. They were most likely roosting somewhere nearby and had just lifted off to start their day’s journey. The distribution of migrants was “lumpy” through most of the day, with short burst of activity separated by slow periods. It did pick up later as we had a decent movement in the last couple hours.
The lack of cloud cover made spotting birds difficult, though some cumulus late in the day helped. The wind wasn’t favorable for migration which had most migrants moving low and mainly soaring. Possibly because of the NNE wind, eagles seemed to be using the east side of the Fisher Range, often passing behind peaks or only popping into view briefly. A few hawks and Bald Eagles used the western ridges or flew down the valley.
Resident raptors included an adult Bald Eagle and an Immature Northern Goshawk
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds on eBird: ebird.org/checklist/S119879010
A mink was seen near the river in the morning. Red squirrels were very active. Several species of butterfly were still out including western white, mourning cloak, milbert’s tortoiseshell and grey comma
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
