Mount Lorette (20 Oct 2026) 142 Raptors

Visitors:
Very few people stopped to ask about the count, but we enjoyed a visit from Peter and Jennifer who stayed a while to watch eagles, and Ed McCullough who helped spot for an hour in the afternoon.

Weather:
Today’s lack of clouds – not even a single contrail! – did not present the observation difficulties that blue sky often brings, as a lack of wind kept the raptors low and easier to see. The warmth of the sun all day was welcome after a starting temperature of -6C. It quickly rose to 10C, and started dropping just as quickly after the sun went behind the west ridge, ending the day at 4C. Ground winds were mostly calm, not getting much above 10 kph from the southwest. Ridge winds were low from the south to start, but veered around to southwest and increased to the 30-40 kph range for the afternoon.

Raptor Observations:
The first Golden Eagle was seen at 0952, and the last at 1830, a few minutes before sunset. In the morning progress for the eagles was slow as what little wind there was was coming from the south. For the most part they were flying in front of the ridges, and seen only briefly when they popped up above the ridge. After noon they were mostly flying a standard route from Lorette, coming into the east ridge at ridge level, then gaining a bit of altitude before gliding on, mostly clearing the ridge after that. Most of the movement was on the east ridge, but a few were seen on the west side. The total was 140 (77a, 7sa, 5j, 17ui, 34u).
In addition, two Bald Eagles were seen heading south (1a, 1j).
One adult Bald Eagle flew low up the river, and an adult American Goshawk was seen hunting over the west side of the valley.

Non-raptor Observations:
Two Common Mergansers swam up the river and then drifted down again. The female Belted Kingfisher chased off another kingfisher at one point. A Hairy Woodpecker flew past. A Northern Shrike sat in a tree staring at a European Starling below it – looking like it was sizing up the starling as a possible prey item. The starling flew off before the shrike did anything. Two Canada Jays came to visit. 13 ravens were seen at once above the east ridge; another seven or so were seen around the valley. A couple of Red Crossbills flew over, and Pine Siskins were heard several times.

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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 Trektellen.org – [Project Details]