Mount Lorette (21 Sep 2024) 51 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 21, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Northern Harrier | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 37 | 37 | 37 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 51 | 51 | 51 |
| Observation start time: | 07:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Lynn Macintosh |
Visitors:
55 visitors stopped to talk. 6 stopped to look for migrants. Thanks to everyone who did, feel free to stop by again!
Weather:
A frosty morning turned into a beautiful fall day. The temperature was -2C at the start of observation, it rose to a high of 12 in the afternoon, then fell to 11 by the end of the day. Ground wind was light in the morning, then blustery in the afternoon with gusts around 20 km/h. At ridge level, wind was moderate in the morning and strong in the afternoon. Cloud cover varied between 20% and 60%.
Raptor Observations:
It was a great day for migration, with a good variety of raptors and about three times the average Golden Eagle count for this date. The first migrant, a Golden Eagle, was spotted almost immediately on arrival to the site just before 9 AM. More migrants passed in the first half of the day than in the latter half, a reverse of the usual pattern. Ageing was difficult in the morning as migrants were often silhouetted in front of the rising sun, but observing conditions were good otherwise. The count for the day was 51 raptors including 37 Golden Eagles (12 adults, 4 sub-adults, 3 juveniles, 6 undifferentiated immature, 12 unaged), 3 Bald Eagles, 2 Northern Harriers, 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 3 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 American Kestrel, 1 Merlin, and 1 small unidentified raptor. A local adult Goshawk was seen hunting over Hummingbird Plume Hill, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk that was moving to the north high up was counted as a resident raptor as it didn’t seem to be actively migrating. It was also nice to see a juvenile Northern Harrier close by while it spent a few minutes hunting in the meadow before moving on.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included: 1 Ruffed Grouse, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 2 Northern Flickers, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 8 Common Ravens, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 1 Mountain Chickadee, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 3 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1 American Dipper, 1 Mountain Bluebird, 1 Varied Thrush, 15 American Robins, 2 American Pipits, 2 Pine Siskins, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 Savannah Sparrow, 25 Yellow-rumped Warblers, & 2 Wilson’s Warblers
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
