Mount Lorette (21 Oct 2026) 189 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 21, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bald Eagle | 6 | 33 | 43 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 54 | 82 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 2 | 8 | 20 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 13 | 16 |
| Golden Eagle | 176 | 1598 | 1864 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Buteo | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 13 | 17 |
| Total: | 189 | 1758 | 2124 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Graeme Dunlop |
| Observers: | Linda Hickey |
Visitors:
Approximately 60 people walked past the site today, with around 20 stopping to chat. Thanks to the 2 visitors from Germany and Jim B and his daughter Vanessa for helping spot eagles.
Weather:
Another warm and sunny fall day. The temperature at 0800 was -3C, the high was 14C at 1500 and it was still 9C at 1845. Ridge winds were SW-WSW 40 to 60km/h with gusts from 65 to 90 km/h. The skies began clear before some thin, high cirrostratus and altostratus appeared covering between 20% to 50% giving an excellent observing backdrop throughout the day.
Raptor Observations:
The first Golden Eagle was seen at 0825 and subsequent movement was fairly steady for the rest of the day with 14 to 35 birds per hour (peak hour was 1500 to 1600) until 1800 when movement slowed, with the last Golden Eagle observed gliding high to the south at 1810. Only 2 Golden Eagles were seen over the western ridges, the rest were mostly using the route from Mt Lorette to the Fisher Range, usually above ridge level and often very high. During the peak hour from 1500, one loose group of 6 eagles flew straight down the valley passing high overhead. The lighting conditions made ageing the eagles quite difficult until the sun angle became more favourable by late afternoon. A total of 189 raptors of 5 species were seen, comprising 6 Bald Eagles (5a, 1sa), 1 un-aged Rough-legged Hawk, 1 un-aged Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 American Goshawks (1a, 1juv), 176 Golden Eagles (46a, 2sa, 6j, 16ui, 106u), 2 unidentified buteos and 1 unidentified raptor.
Non-raptor Observations:
Not much activity in the meadow today. A few flocks of Bohemian Waxwings flew past totalling about 60 birds. Other birds were 2 Canada Jays, 1 Magpie, about 15 Ravens and 4 Siskins.
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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]
