Mount Lorette (17 Oct 2023) 66 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 17, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 35 | 37 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 95 | 125 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 25 | 29 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 15 | 20 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Golden Eagle | 63 | 1761 | 1918 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 25 | 43 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Total: | 66 | 2001 | 2250 |
| Observation start time: | 10:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7.63 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch |
Visitors:
About 8 people stopped to inquire about the count. 2 with binoculars stayed for a while.
Weather:
The start of the count was delayed to 11:00am due to rain and low clouds. Once the rain stopped, the clouds cleared up quickly, and by late afternoon there were almost no clouds. Before leaving, however, cumulus clouds were building up again. The temperature started out at 6C, rose to 10C, and was 7C at the end of the count. Ground winds were low from the southwest all day, while ridge winds were mostly from the southwest all day in the range 30-50km/h, gusting up to 70km/h, perfect for migrating eagles.
Raptor Observations:
Apart from a lull between 15:00 and 17:00, there was a steady, but slow, stream of migrant Golden Eagles. Apart from one seen on the west ridge, all were on the east ridge. Most came in around ridge level, and were able to gain altitude with no flapping or soaring, making the IDs a bit challenging as they were sideways on as they glided along. The totals were 63 Golden Eagles (27a, 5sa, 3j, 5ui, 23u), one Sharp-shinned Hawk, one small accipiter, and one subadult Bald Eagle.
One adult Bald Eagle sat in a tree beside the river for a while, an adult American Goshawk was seen hunting over Hummingbird Plume, and a juvenile American Goshawk was seen twice in the area.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds were: Canada Jay 2, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 7, Black-capped Chickadee 3, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Golden-crowned Kinglet 1, Bohemian Waxwing 20, Pine Grosbeak 3, Red Crossbill 10
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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]
