Mount Lorette (06 Oct 2023) 230 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 06, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 5 | 17 | 19 |
| Northern Harrier | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 14 | 61 | 91 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| American Goshawk | 7 | 17 | 21 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 11 | 16 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 188 | 490 | 647 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 1 | 7 | 11 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 7 | 16 | 34 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Total: | 230 | 643 | 892 |
| Observation start time: | 06:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Graeme Dunlop |
| Observers: | Rick Robb |
Visitors:
18. Up to 9 people stayed for a while to enjoy the weather and scenery. Thanks to Theresa, James and Doug for helping to spot birds.
Weather:
The temperature was -4C at sunrise, the high was 16C at 1600 and it was 11C at 1915. Winds were SW-WSW all day mostly calm to light at ground level, ridge winds were SW light becoming SW moderate with strong gusts after 1600. Cloud cover was clear to 20% cirrus. Observing conditions were excellent all day.
Raptor Observations:
The total movement observed between 0745 and 1915 was 230 migrants of 9 species that comprised 5 Bald Eagles (4a, 1sa), 2 brown Northern Harriers, 14 Sharp-shinned Hawks (7a, 17u), 2 adult Cooperâs Hawks, 2a Red-tailed Hawks (2 light calurus and 1 dark harlani), 1 light-coloured Rough-legged Hawk (hunting slowly along the east ridge for almost an hour from 0800), 188 Golden Eagles (118a, 4sa, 34j, 32u), 1 Merlin, 7 unidentified accipiters and 1 unidentified raptor. Despite the seemingly favorable conditions movement was quite slow until 1400, 87 Golden Eagles were seen between 1400 and 1700 and 59 between 1800 and 1900. All but 4 Golden Eagles used the eastern ridges. In the afternoon and evening most eagles were first located high-soaring over either Skogan Peak or Mt Lorette before gliding across the valley to the Fisher Range at varying altitudes. On my way home I stopped briefly at the Mt Allan viewpoint on Hwy 40 and saw 3 Golden Eagles still flying after sunset (19:15).
Non-raptor Observations:
Common Loon 2, White-headed gulls sp. 15, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Canada Jay 2, Black-billed Magpie 3, Common Raven 20, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Mountain Chickadee 1, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, American Dipper 1, American Robin 11, Bohemian Waxwing 10, Pine Siskin 3, White-crowned Sparrow 2.
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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]
