Mount Lorette (28 Oct 2024) 36 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 28, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 60 | 71 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 75 | 93 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 15 | 15 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 10 | 18 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 16 | 16 |
| Golden Eagle | 33 | 2292 | 2555 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Total: | 36 | 2499 | 2822 |
| Observation start time: | 07:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Lori Anderson |
| Observers: | Glenn Webber |
Visitors:
7
Weather:
It was a serene fall morning which started out calm, then winds gradually increased throughout the day blowing light snow sprinkles from the west. A squall finally invaded the meadow at around 1500 hrs (MDT) after which the weather slowly returned to the early matinal conditions. Ground winds blew from the SW and WSW ranging from 1-10 km/h. At ridge level, winds were strong from the SW and WSW with gusts up to 76 km/h at times. Cloud coverage ranged from 50-90% and consisted of a combination of cumulus, cirrus, altostratus, and cirrocumulus. The western ridges were partially covered all day between 10 and 90%, while the eastern ridges were only affected during the snowstorm. The temperature started at 2C, rose to 6C at 1400 hrs (MDT), and fell to 4C by the end of the count.
Raptor Observations:
A pair of Golden Eagles appeared just before 10:00 (MDT), gliding from Mt. Lorette to the Fisher range and off to the South. Most of the migrants appeared to come from the Wasooch area, then glided to the North Fisher range and disappeared behind the peaks without following the ridges towards Mt McDougal. Throughout the day the flight elevation varied depending on the wind speed. For the most part, they flew just above the ridges but near the end of the count, they came in a bit higher. Some flew in and out, around and about the peaks of the North Fisher âBumpsâ. The final count was 33 Golden Eagles (27 adults, 2 subadults, 1 juvenile, 3 unaged). American Goshawk 1, Northern Harrier 1. Unknown Accipiter (Large) 1. We had three sightings of a resident Golden Eagle.
Non-raptor Observations:
Today the local Belted King Fisher seemed to need our company and spent a lot of time near us fishing, sleeping, and chattering as it flew to different trees. There seemed to be fewer Ravens (6) in the area and at one point two pairs flew together, mirroring each other in courtship. A solitary Black-capped Chickadee flew down to the bushes by the river. Other birds included 4 Dark-eyed juncos and a small flock of Pine Siskins. 2 Canada Jays.
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
