Mount Lorette (17 Apr 2023) 10 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 17, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 42 | 128 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 9 | 9 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 9 | 20 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 4 | 23 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Golden Eagle | 2 | 314 | 1753 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 10 | 20 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 10 | 427 | 1980 |
| Observation start time: | 05:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 20:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 14.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Lori Anderson |
| Observers: | Rick Robb |
Visitors:
Six people stopped by the site.
Weather:
At Dawn, the sky was almost cloudless and snow crystals filled the air, blown in from the snow clouds over the SW side of the valley. There was a thin layer of powder on the trail and much more was to come throughout the morning. A wind warning was in effect and the snow plumes on the ridges confirmed the very strong winds. At one point, a large snow tornado swirled on the Olympic Summit and another formed upriver. At ground level, the winds were also strong all day with gusts over 30 km/h, and even toppled over a heavy metal chair. Both ridge and ground winds blew from the SW. After 9:00 it started snowing intermittently until about 15:00 with a few very intense squalls, and it wasnât until 18:00 that the valley had clear skies and finally allowed passage for two Golden Eagles. The temperature went up and down all day between 0 and 4 degrees.
Raptor Observations:
Most of the few migrants seen today flew high over the center of the valley, but later after the snow storms passed, they used the eastern ridges. A very funny thing happened today. We were observing one of the resident Golden Eagles fly southward directly overhead and a Bald Eagle came into view heading northward passing it on the same path and at the same level as if it were a two-way highway. Migrant Raptors: 2 Golden Eagles (1a, 1u), 1 adult Bald Eagle, 4 Red-tailed Hawks (3 adults, 1 dark/intermediate adult), 1 Northern Harrier (adult female), 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks (2u). Non-migrant Raptors: Resident Golden Eagles were seen hunting a few times but not performing display behavior. Oddly, the resident Goshawks were neither seen nor heard the entire day. A light morph adult Red-tailed Hawk circled while hunting over the meadow and later another with the same characteristics was seen a few times kiting and soaring while hunting over Hummingbird plume. I think it might be the same one, and has set up shop in the area.
Non-raptor Observations:
Before the snowstorm, the morning meadow was teaming with activity and song. Northern flickers called out continuously for hours, Robins and Juncos sang and a pair of Mountain Bluebirds embellished the tree tops. + American Robins, 2 Hairy Woodpeckers, + Common Ravens, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches, + Dark-eyed Juncos 4 Canada Geese, 2 Northern Flickers. 1 Common Goldeneye, 4 Mallards, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 1 Ruffed Grouse (tracks). Very frisky Red Squirrels.
Report submitted by ()
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]
