Friday, October 6 [Day 15] (Bill Wilson, assisted by Blake Weis and Caroline Lambert) 0700-1840. The temperature high was 13C at 1500 from a starting low of 2C and it remained at 9C at the end of observation. Ground winds were SW all day 10-20 gusting to 40-50km/h and occasionally higher, while ridge winds were strong SW all day. Initial cloud cover was 100% altostratus to 1000, 30-80% altostratus, lenticular and cumulus to 1200 when it was 100% cumulus that dwindled to 10% at 1500; it then thickened again to 100% stratus by the end that brought rain showers in the late afternoon. Ridges were clear until 1700-1840 when the east was 10% cloud-covered and the west 40% . The day produced a season high count of 430 migrants all but 4 of which were Golden Eagles that moved almost exclusively high from Mount Lorette to the Fisher Range between 0740 and 1649. The count was 2 adult Bald Eagles, 1u dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk of undetermined race, 1 light morph Rough-legged Hawk and a season-high 426 Golden Eagles (157a, 5sa, 30j, 228u). The height of the movement and the nature of the cloud backdrop resulted in most of the birds being unaged. Eight birds were seen before 0800 and subsequently every hour between 0800 and 1500 saw a passage of between 44 and 75 birds; 30 were seen between 1500 and 1600 and 6 after 1600. Other birds noted on a rather busy day were 1 American Robin and 15 Pine Siskins. There were 12 visitors at the site today.

11.67 hours (176.4) BAEA 2 (42), RTHA 1 (21), RLHA 1 (7), GOEA 426 (953) TOTAL 430 (1124)

Vicki Ridge [Day 16] (Peter Sherrington) 0900-1815 (Observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge). The weather was as unpleasant as the previous day had been delightful. At 0900 the temperature was 10C, reached a high of 15C at 1500 and was 12C at 1800. Winds were relentlessly strong all day, W to 1100 and NW afterwards, 50-65 gusting 70-90 km/h that made keeping the spotting scope steady and even standing difficult at times. Cloud cover was 100-70% altostratus as a large Chinook Arch perched over the ridges and gradually moved off to the SE. By 1400 cloud had diminished to 30% and between 1630 and 1750 it was essentially cloudless before 60% altocumulus, cirrus and cumulus cloud rapidly re-formed around 1800. A total of 201 migrants of 12 species, a diversity that equals the season’s high, were counted between 0909 and 1754 with birds moving both along Vicki Ridge to the east and Kylo Ridge to the west usually simultaneously: 118 birds moved above Kylo Ridge, 78 over Vicki Ridge and 5 flew south between the ridges. The dark cloud backdrop before 1400 made aging of birds almost impossible as they were silhouetted against the cloud, and again to the west in the late afternoon as they were silhouetted against the glare of the lowering sun. Many birds were obviously also moving unseen to south west of Kylo Ridge. It was hard work but the final count was 1 Osprey, 4 Bald Eagles (2a, 2u), 1u male Northern Harrier, 11 Sharp-shinned Hawks (5a, 6u), 2u Cooper’s Hawks, 2 Northern Goshawks (1a, 1u), 8 Red-tailed Hawks (5 light morph calurus : 4a, 1j; and 2 dark morph harlani: 1a, 1j), 4 Rough-legged Hawks (3 light, 1u), 4 indeterminate Buteos (1 light, 1 dark, 2u), a season-high 159 Golden Eagles (56a, 7sa, 31j, 65u), 1u American Kestrel, 2u male columbarius Merlins, the first Prairie Falcon of the season and 1 unidentified large falcon.

9.25 hours (131.1) OSPR 1 (9), BAEA 4 (25), NOHA 1 (12), SSHA 11 (473), COHA 2 (68), NOGO 2 (46), RTHA 8 (155), RLHA 4 (13), UB 4 (10), GOEA (159), AMKE 1 (19), MERL 2 (14), PRFA 1 (1), UF 1 (1) TOTAL 201 (1359)

Steeples [Day 11] (Vance Mattson) 1130-1830. The temperature was 10C at 1130 and rose to a high of 16C . Winds were strong S-SW, and cloud cover was originally 90% cumulus and altostratus but reduced to 50% cumulus and altocumulus for most of the day. A total of 10 migrants sporadically battled the strong winds between 1429 and 1719, comprising 1 juvenile Bald Eagle, 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk and 8 Golden Eagles (4a, 4j).

7 hours (50.5) BAEA 1 (45), RTHA 1 (40), GOEA 8 (33) TOTAL 10 (226)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 15

HOURS 176.4

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 42

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 57

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 11

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 10

Accipiter sp. (UA) 2

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 21

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 7

Buteo sp. (UB) 5

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 953

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 2

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 3

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 1124

Thursday, October 5 [Day 14] (Caroline Lambert, assisted by Rick Robb) 0750-1950. The temperature at 0800 was 0C, reached a high of 15C at 1600 and 1700 and was 6C 1950. Ground winds were light SW 5-10 km/h all day, and ridge winds were probably similar although a completely cloudless sky all day made it difficult to assess them. There was a strong migration dominated by Golden Eagles with a season high 189 birds of 6 species moving between 1014 and 1928. The count comprised 5 Bald Eagles (2a, 3sa), 3u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 adult Cooper’s Hawk, 2 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks, 1 light morph Rough-legged Hawk, ), 1 unidentified dark Buteo and a season high 176 Golden Eagles (94a, 9sa, 46j, 27u). The intensity of the movement gradually increased throughout the day with 137 birds counted after 1500 and peak hours of 38 (17-1800) and 39 (18-1900) with 18 between 1900 and 1928. Most of the early migrants moved on the western route to 1117, and then from Mount Lorette to the Fisher Range to 1200 after which most were initially located at the northern end of the Fisher Range from where they moved slowly south hugging the ridge and often disappearing behind it. Other birds were scarce and were 2 American Dippers, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 12 Common Ravens, 1 European Starling and 2 Pine Siskins. Seven visitors were at the site today.

12 hours (164.8) BAEA 5 (40), SSHA 3 (57), COHA 1 (11), RTHA 2 (20), RLHA 1 (6), UB 1 (5), GOEA 176 (527)

Vicki Ridge [Day 15] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Denise Cocciolone-Amatto) 0900-1815. It was a splendid day on the ridge with an initial temperature of 6C rising to a high of 15C at 1500 and 1600 and it was still 13C at 1800. Winds were steady WSW all day 10-20 occasionally gusting to 30 km/h, and an initial cloud cover of 90% altostratus dwindled to 20-30% after 1000 and it was completely cloudless after 1200. Raptor migration was strong between 1119 and 1750 with a season high total of 183 birds of 9 species moving high to the south and often forming kettles of soaring birds above the ridge involving up to 9 Golden Eagles. The final count (including 1 adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks and 1 adult Golden Eagle seen by Raymond Toal at the south end of Kylo Ridge between 1200 and 1400) was 4 Bald Eagles (3a, 1sa), 1 juvenile male Northern Harrier, 37 Sharp-shinned Hawks (26a, 1j, 11u), 5 adult Cooper’s Hawks, 1 juvenile Northern Goshawk, 1 unidentified small Accipiter, a season high 6 light morph Broad-winged Hawks (3a, 2j, 1u), 11 adult Red-tailed Hawks (6 light and 4 dark calurus, and 1 dark harlani), 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 1 dark) and a season high 113 Golden Eagles (50a, 4sa, 49j, 10u). Peak hourly movement was 32 (15-1600), 44 (16-1700) and 39 (17-1750) after which the movement abruptly stopped. Other birds were scarce but included 1 juvenile Northern Shrike, 5 American Robins, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 3 Dark-eyed Juncos and 8 Red Crossbills. The 8 visitors to the site were treated to amazing views of dozens of soaring and gliding raptors passing overhead in perfect afternoon light. The weather forecast is calling for winds of up to 100 km/h so tomorrow I shall probably be watching from the west flank of the ridge.

9.25 hours (121.8) BAEA 4 (21), NOHA 1 (11), SSHA 38 (462), COHA 5 (66), NOGO 1 (44), UA 1 (3), BWHA 6 (30), RTHA 11 (147), RLHA 2 (9), GOEA 113 (306) TOTAL 183 (1158)

Steeples [Day 10] (Vance Mattson) The temperature reached 17C, it was calm or light W winds and cloudless skies that proved to almost raptor-less. The only migrants seen were an Osprey at 1410 and a subadult Bald Eagle and a light morph Rough-legged Hawk at 1443. The Rough-legged Hawk perched to consume prey that it had caught before continuing to the south. Non-migrants were also scarce and involved 2 Bald Eagles and adult Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed Hawks.

OSPR 1 (3), BAEA 1 (44), RLHA 1 (2) TOTAL 3 (216)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 14

HOURS 164.8

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 40

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 57

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 11

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 10

Accipiter sp. (UA) 2

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 20

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 6

Buteo sp. (UB) 5

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 527

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 2

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 3

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 694

Wednesday, October 3 [Day 13] (Cliff Hansen, assisted by Jim Davis) 0730-1930. The starting temperature was -5C but rose to a high from 1500 to 1700 of 11C and was 3C at 1900. It was calm to 1000 then light variable but mostly NE light winds for the rest of the day. Ridge winds were also light and also probably NE. On arrival cloud cover was 10% cirrus but gradually increased to 90% altocumulus and cirrus from 1300 to 1600 after which it was 50% for the rest of the day. Observing conditions were good but the first migrant did not appear until 1417, and after 1500 there was a steady stream of migrants that generally moved low above the Fisher Range. The total of 72 migrant raptors of 6 species comprised 3 Bald Eagles (1sa, 2j), 4u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1j Cooper’s Hawk, 1 unidentified small Accipiter, 1 adult dark morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 1 dark morph Rough-legged Hawk, 1 unidentified dark morph Buteo and 60 Golden Eagles (10a, 9sa, 33j, 8u). Thirty-two of the birds moved between 1800 and 1822 with the last bird of the day, a juvenile Golden Eagle going to roost high at the northern end of the Fisher Range. Other birds included a singing Northern Pygmy-Owl, 1 Clark’s Nutcracker and 4 American Robins, and there were 34 visitors to the site including 26 grade 5 students and staff from Langevin School in Calgary.

12 hours (152.8) BAEA 3 (35), SSHA 4 (54), COHA 1 (10), UA 1 (2), RTHA 1 (18), RLHA 1 (5), UB 1 (4), GOEA 60 (351) TOTAL 72 (505)

Vicki Ridge [Day 14] (Peter Sherrington) 0900-1830. Owing to a temperature inversion it was 1C at the base of the ridge but 9C at the ridge-top site where it remained to 1400 when it rose to 10C before falling to 7C at 1730. Winds were light E-ENE all day and it was often calm for extended periods. Cloud cover was initially 30% altocumulus which progressively increased to 100% altostratus at 1500 which persisted for the rest of the day and thickened after 1600 to provide a gloomy end to the proceedings. Despite the light winds there was a fairly strong raptor movement of 106 birds of 9 species that migrated between 1051 and 1648 including season-high counts for Cooper’s Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk and Rough-legged Hawk, although there was only a meagre count of 10 Golden Eagles and no falcons were seen. It was also a bumper day for dark morph Buteos that comprised 54% of that genus. The count was 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa), 23 Sharp-shinned Hawks (13a, 10u), 8 Cooper’s Hawks (6a, 2u), 6 Northern Goshawks (5a, 1j), 1 unidentified small Accipiter, 5 Broad-winged Hawks (4 light morphs: 2a, 2j; and 1 juvenile dark morph), 43 Red-tailed Hawks (19 adult light morph calurus, 23 dark morph calurus (16a, 4j, 3u) and 1j dark morph harlani), 1 adult dark morph Ferruginous Hawk, 5 Rough-legged Hawks (3 light, 2 dark), 2 unidentified dark Buteos and 10 Golden Eagles (4a, 4sa, 1j). There was much soaring flight with kettles involving up to 7 birds, and many birds were seen up to 2 kilometres east of the ridge. Peak movement was 29 between 1100 and 1200, and 31 between 1300 and 1400 and there was a secondary peak of 24 birds between 1500 and 1600. The resident pair of Golden Eagles was in evidence for much of the day with the male displaying at 1422. With the exception of ravens the only songbirds seen on the ridge were 1 Mountain Bluebird, 7 American Robins and 3 Dark-eyed [Oregon] Juncos. There were fresh Bobcat tracks near the site along with those of White-footed Mouse and Least Chipmunk which it was probably hunting.

8.5 hours (112.6) BAEA 2 (17), SSHA 23 (424), COHA 8 (61), NOGO 6 (43), UA 1 (2), BWHA 5 (24), RTHA 43 (136), FEHA 1 (5), RLHA 5 (7), GOEA 10 (192) TOTAL 106 (975)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) NO OBSERVATION

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 13

HOURS 152.8

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 35

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 54

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 10

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 10

Accipiter sp. (UA) 2

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 18

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 5

Buteo sp. (UB) 4

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 351

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 2

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 3

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 505

Tuesday, October 3 [Day 12] (Joel Duncan, assisted by Chris Hunt) 1030-1900. There was 12 cm of fresh snow on the ground and the temperature was -5C when observation began at 1030, which rose to a high at 1700 of 5C and was 0C when observation ceased at 1900. Ground winds and ridge winds were light (<11 km/h) all day, and it was cloudless except around 1600 when 10% cirrus cloud briefly developed. Only 2 migrant raptors were seen: a subadult Golden Eagle that flew low to the south against the Fisher Range at 1603, and an unaged Golden Eagle that glided very high above the Fisher Range 9 minutes later at 1612, and no resident raptors were seen. Other birds were also scarce but included 1 Northern Pygmy-Owl, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 3 American Robins and 1 Song Sparrow. The only thing that was abundant today were visitors of which there were 93 that included 22 students and staff from Western Canada High school in Calgary and 67 from two grade 5 science classes from Langevin School also in Calgary. The dearth of birds was in strong contrast to what was happening 200 km to the south at Vicki Ridge under almost identical weather conditions (see below).

8.5 hours (140.8) GOEA 2 (291) TOTAL 2 (433)

Vicki Ridge [Day 13] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Denise Cocciolone-Amatto and Raymond Toal) 0900-1800. There was 25 cm of fresh snow on the ridge which made for a strenuous ascent. The temperature at 0900 was -8C but it rose under cloudless skies to a high of 5C at 1600 and was 3C at the end of observation. Winds were WSW-W all day, generally light to 1300, but they then gradually increased and peaked at 1800 at 16-20 gusting 26 km/h. Following a complete shut-down of migration on Monday, today produced a fairly robust movement between 1124 and 1729 of 116 migrants of 9 species. The count was 4 Bald Eagles (2sa, 2j), 24 Sharp-shinned Hawks (18a, 2j, 4u), 2 Cooper’s Hawks (1a, 1u), 2 adult Northern Goshawks, 4 light morph Broad-winged Hawks (3a, 1u), 12 Red-tailed Hawks (11 adult calurus: 10 light and 1 dark; and 1 dark juvenile harlani), a season-high 66 Golden Eagles (13a, 15sa, 38j), 1 male American Kestrel and 1 adult male columbarius Merlin. Twenty birds of 8 species moved between 1200 and 1300 but the busiest hour was 1500-1600 when 43 birds were counted but only 2 species were involved: 14 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 29 Golden Eagles. To 1500 most birds moved to the west of the ridge, but subsequently they moved above the ridge with the Golden Eagles often soaring and gliding high in groups of up to 6 birds. The sight of so many juvenile birds moving overhead against an azure sky was an unforgettable experience. Not surprisingly given the snow cover other birds were scarce on the ridge but included 1 Northern Shrike, 2 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 1 American Robin, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos and 2 Pine Siskins.

9 hours (104.1) BAEA 4 (15), SSHA 24 (401), COHA 2 (53), NOGO 2 (37), BWHA 4 (19), RTHA 12 (93), GOEA 66 (182), AMKE 1 (18), MERL 1 (12) TOTAL 116 (869)

Steeples [Day 9] (Vance Mattson) 1300-1800. The temperature was 7C upon arrival and reached a high of 18C, and it was calm and cloudless. The conditions only produced a disappointing total of 10 migrants that comprised 8 adult Bald Eagles, 1 adult Sharp-shinned Hawk that was the last bird of the day at 1629, and 1 adult Golden Eagle. Six of the Bald Eagles moved together at 1447. Non-migrants consisted of 3 adult Bald Eagles and 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk.

5 hours (40.5) BAEA 8 (43), SSHA 1 (71), GOEA 1 (25) TOTAL 10 (213)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 12

HOURS 140.8

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 32

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 50

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 10

Accipiter sp. (UA) 1

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 17

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 4

Buteo sp. (UB) 3

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 291

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 2

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 3

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 433

Monday, October 2 [Day 12] (George Halmazna) 0730-1230. NO OBSERVATION. Continuous snow with all mountains obscured, a temperature of -3C that rose to -2C at noon, and N winds 10-20 km/h. Two Common Ravens were seen!

Vicki Ridge [Day 13] (Peter Sherrington) NO OBSERVATION. Heavy wet snow all day that completely obscured all ridges.

Steeples (Vance Mattson) NO OBSERVATION

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 11

HOURS 132.3

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 32

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 50

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 10

Accipiter sp. (UA) 1

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 17

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 4

Buteo sp. (UB) 3

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 289

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 2

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 3

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 431