Beaver Mines and Steeples, March 28

Saturday, March 28 Beaver Mines [Day 33] 0700-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0700 was 2C, the high at 1300 was 8C and it was 4C at 2030. Winds were WSW-SW all day 40-50 gusting 65 km/h to 1500, 30-45 km/h to 1900 and finally 20-30 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 50-100% thin altostratus, altocumulus, cirrus and cumulus that, as yesterday, allowed sunshine or hazy sunshine all day and generally provided excellent observing conditions. A season-high total of 262 migrant raptors of 10 species was counted between 0932 and 2002 that comprised 27 Bald Eagles (24a, 1sa, 2j), 1 adult male Northern Harrier, 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1a, 2u), 1u Cooper’s Hawk, 9 Northern Goshawks (7a, 2u), 1 unidentified Accipiter, 3 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks, 213 Golden Eagles (189a, 8sa, 7j, 9u), 1u columbarius Merlin, 1 adult male Peregrine Falcon and 2 Prairie Falcons (1 male, 1u). As yesterday movement was initially slow with only 10 birds seen before 1200, but migration was strong throughout the afternoon culminating in a movement of 61 birds (57 Golden Eagles) between 1900 and 2000 with the last 6 Golden Eagles moving high to the NW at 2002. Both the combined-species and Golden Eagle totals were the second highest ever for a spring count at the site, but well below the highest counts here of 463 and 429 respectively on March 19, 2015. At Mount Lorette Graeme Dunlop reported 46 migrants that comprised 3 adult Bald Eagles and 22 Golden Eagles (15a, 3j, 25u) in 12.75 hours of observation. Other birds seen at Beaver Mines were 2 Canada Geese, a pair of Common Mergansers, 11 Rock Pigeons, 1 Eurasian Collared Dove, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 female Red-shafted Flicker, 2 Blue Jays, 3 American Crows, 26 Common Ravens, 4 Black-capped Chickadees, 5 Mountain Chickadees, 2 American Robins, 6 European Starlings, 22 Pine Grosbeaks, a flock of 31 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches that flew north at 1720 and 26 Dark-eyed Juncos (1 cismontanus and 25 montanus).

13.5 hours (384.7) BAEA 27 (209), NOHA 1 (4), SSHA 3 (14), COHA 1 (4), NOGO 9 (32), UA 1 (1), RTHA 3 (25), GOEA 213 (838), MERL 1 (5), PEFA 1 (3), PRFA 2 (5) TOTAL 262 (1192)

Saturday, March 28 [Day 23] 1130-1800 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 7C, winds were strong S and cloud cover was 90-100% altostratus and dark cumulus. The ridges were clear except for the face of Mount Bill Nye which was partly obscured for most of the day. When this mountain begins to cloud over it usually indicates that the migration is going to stop or, as today, that it is not going to start at all! The only resident bird seen was an adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk.

6.5 hours (124.5) TOTAL 0 (400)