Friday, October 19 Mount Lorette [Day 26] 0815-1905 (Caroline Lambert, assisted by Rosemary and Gord Petersen). The temperature at 0815 was -3C, the high at 1600 was 13C and it was 4C at the end of observation. Ground winds were light and variable all day with the exception of around 1700 when there were SW gusts to 15 km/h, while ridge winds were SW-WSW light to moderate all day. Cloud cover was variable 20-70% cirrus that completely cleared at the end of the day which gave good observing conditions throughout. There was a fairly strong raptor movement of 124 birds of 5 species between 0909 and 1836 that comprised a season-high 16 Bald Eagles (6a, 10 sa), 2u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 Northern Goshawks (1j, 1u), 100 Golden Eagles (68a, 8sa, 12j, 12u), 3 unidentified eagles and 1 large unidentified falcon. Most birds moved on the eastern route and only 4 (1 Bald and 3 Golden Eagles) were seen over the western route. There was much soaring flight and most birds originated from Mount Lorette although several appeared to come from farther north. Eighteen Golden Eagles moved before 1400, and 82 after 1400 with 33 seen between 1600 and 1700 and 6 after 1800. A single adult Bald Eagle was considered to be resident. Other birds included 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 1 American Dipper, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 10 White-winged Crossbills, 2 Pine Siskins and 5 Dark-eyed Juncos. Butterflies seen were 1 Milbert’s Tortoiseshell and 1 small Polygonia sp. There were 8 visitors to the site that included 2 post-graduate statistics students from the University of Victoria in British Columbia that are working on the analysis of the first 25 years of RMERF data.

10.83 hours (272.2) BAEA 16 (87), SSHA 2 (57), NOGO 2 (24), GOEA 100 (2007), UE 3 (19), UF 1 (2) TOTAL 124 (2284)

Friday, October 19 Vicki Ridge [Day 23] 0830-1835 (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Hilary Atkinson, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite). The temperature at 0900 was 1C but quickly rose to 9C at 1000, reached a high of 16C at 1500 and was still 14C at 1800. Winds were W 0-10 km/h to 1100 and then W-WSW 10-15 gusting to 20 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 10-20% cirrostratus and altocumulus to 1000 and subsequently varied between 30% and 80% altostratus, altocumulus and cirrus for the rest of the day as bands of high altitude clouds moved slowly to the south. Viewing conditions were excellent over Vicki Ridge all day, but several birds moving to the south over Kyllo Ridge to the west were silhouetted against the sun. The lighter winds provided a moderate and sporadic raptor movement between 1054 and 1736 that involved much soaring flight and comprised 11 Bald Eagles (6a 2sa, 1j, 3u). 13 Sharp-shinned Hawks (5a, 8u), 1 adult Northern Goshawk, 13 Rough-legged Hawks (9 light, 2 dark, 1u) and 36 Golden Eagles (26a, 4sa, 3j, 3u). Most of the birds moved above Vicki Ridge and the maximum hourly counts were 20 between 1300 and 1400 (16 Golden Eagles) and again between 1600 and 1700 (7 Golden Eagles). The cumulative Golden Eagle total of 2015 is a new high count for the site, the previous high of 2001 having been established on November 15 last year. Other birds were scarce but included 7 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 10 Bohemian Waxwings, 12 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 5 Red Crossbills and 5 Pine Siskins.

9 hours (204.7) BAEA 11 (131), SSHA 13 (588), NOGO 1 (45), RLHA 13 (222), GOEA 36 (2015), TOTAL 74 (3373)

Friday, October 19 Steeples [Day 27] 1215-1815 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 12C, it was calm, and 30% cirrus cloud cover gave way to cloudless skies after 1400. Nine migrant Golden Eagles (4a, 2sa, 3j) were seen that moved in two small bursts: 5 birds between 1510 and 1533 and 4 birds between 1710 and 1742. Flight was slow and leisurely and involved soaring with some flapping flight.

6 hours (121) GOEA 9 (140) TOTAL 9 (413)

Thursday, October 18 Mount Lorette [Day 25] 0750-1920 (Rick Robb and Cliff Hansen). The temperature at 0750 was 0C, the high at 1700 was 12C and it was 6C at the end of observation. Ground winds were generally less than 5 km/h and only reached 5-10 km/h between 1400 and 1500, and ridge winds were light SW-WSW for most of the day. Cloud cover was 70-100% stratocumulus to 1300, 90-60% altocumulus and cumulus to 70% that gave sunny breaks after 1400, and finally 90% altocumulus and cumulus at the end of the day; all ridges were clear. There was another fairly strong raptor movement with 90 birds of 5 species seen between 0934 and 1852 comprising 2 adult Bald Eagles, 2u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1u Cooper’s Hawk, 3 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 2u) and 82 Golden Eagles (40a, 7sa, 12j, 23u). Golden Eagle movement peaked between 1500 and 1600 when 21 birds were seen, and migration was entirely on the eastern route with much flapping flight in the calm conditions and soaring after 1400 when the sunny breaks created thermals. Golden Eagles were not seen over Mount Lorette until 1649 after which most birds were initially located there. Resident birds were an adult Bald Eagle that flew low above the river and a Northern Goshawk that twice was heard calling near the site. The highlight of the non-raptor sightings was a flock of 10 Evening Grosbeaks that perched near the site, a species that is surprisingly uncommon in the valley, and 1 Mourning Cloak butterfly was also seen. A total of 78 visitors at the site all enjoyed sights of migrating Golden Eagles today.

11.5 hours (261.3) BAEA 2 (71), SSHA 2 (55), COHA 1 (6), RLHA 3 (25) GOEA 82 (1907) TOTAL 90 (2160)

Thursday, October 18 Vicki Ridge [Day 22] 0830-1835 (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Hilary Atkinson, Doug and Teresa Dolman and Raymond Toal, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite). The temperature at 0830 was 10C, the high was 16C at 1400 and 1500 and winds were W-WSW all day 25-35 gusting to 55 km/h to 1600 and then 40 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 10-30% altostratus and cirrus to 1330 then 70-80% altostratus, altocumulus and cirrus that reached 100% at 1800. Numbers of migrating Golden Eagles continued to steadily decline from the high count on October 15, but there was still a fairly strong movement of 176 birds of 8 species between 0858 and 1804 that comprised 10 Bald Eagles (5a, 1sa, 2j, 2u), 10 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4a, 6u), 4 adult Northern Goshawks, 3 adult Red-tailed Hawks (1 light calurus and 2 dark harlani), 23 Rough-legged Hawks (20 light, 1 dark, 2u), 124 Golden Eagles (83a, 14sa, 24j, 3u), 1 male grey morph Gyrfalcon and 1 adult male Peregrine Falcon. Movement was steady to 1700 and peaked at 51 birds (48 Golden Eagles) between 1200 and 1300) but only 9 birds were seen after 1700. Other bird species were again scarce but included a flock of 30 Pine Siskins that flew low near the site.

9.75 hours (195.7) BAEA 10 (120), SSHA 10 (575), NOGO 4 (44), RTHA 3 (157), RLHA 23 (209), GOEA 124 (1979), GYRF 1 (4), PEFA 1 (9) TOTAL 176 (3299)

Thursday, October 18 Steeples [Day 26] 1300-1800 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 6C to 9C, it was again calm and cloud cover was initially 90% altostratus that thinned to 60% then 30% altocumulus as the afternoon progressed. No migrant raptors were seen, but the pair of resident Golden Eagles soared above the ridge and above the site.

5 hours (115) TOTAL 0 (404)

Wednesday, October 17 Mount Lorette [Day 24] 0815-1915 (Caroline Lambert, assisted by Katherine Petersen). The temperature was -4C at 0815, the high was 14C at 1600 and 1700 and it was 4C at the close of observation. Ground winds were light SW all day except for mid-afternoon when they gusted 25-35 km/h before becoming light again after 1600; ridge winds were probably W initially light but becoming moderate and possibly strong during the afternoon. There was another fairly strong mainly eagle migration that saw 117 birds of 3 species move between 1134 and 1836. The count comprised 6 Bald Eagles (5a, 1sa), 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk and 106 Golden Eagles (78a, 6sa, 10j, 12u). All but 2 Golden Eagles used the eastern route originating from Mount Lorette and glided high above the ridge only during the middle of the afternoon when the winds increased; otherwise there was much soaring flight, often high above the ridge during the early and late light wind periods, with these birds probably originating from the Heart Mountain area. Only 2 Golden Eagles were seen before 1300 but movement was steady thereafter and peaked at 31 birds between 1500 and 1600. Resident birds were 1 adult Bald Eagle, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk that hunted along the river and 1 adult Golden Eagle that cruised high above the centre of the valley searching for food. With the exception of 3 American Robins all of the other 10 species of bird seen were residents. Nine visitors came to the site today.

11 hours (249.8) BAEA 6 (69), SSHA 1 (53), GOEA 106 (1825) TOTAL 117 (2070)

Wednesday, October 17 Vicki Ridge [Day 21] 0830-1835 (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Hilary Atkinson, Gord Petersen, Raymond Toal and Trevor Lewis, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite, and Denise Cocciolone-Amatto observing from the ridgetop). It was a warm day with a starting temperature of 7C, a high at 1400 of 17C and it was 13C at the end of observation. The wind was WNW 20 km/h to 0930 after which it was mainly W 30-40 gusting to 55 km/h for the rest of the day. It was cloudless to1600 when traces of cirrus formed that developed to 10% altostratus after 1700. There was again a strong and very varied raptor movement with 225 birds of 12 species seen between 0845 and 1829. The count was 12 Bald Eagles (7a, 2sa), 1 adult female Northern Harrier, 12 Sharp-shinned Hawks (6a, 6u), 2 adult Cooper’s Hawks, a season-high 6 Northern Goshawks(4a, 2j), 2 adult light morph Broad-winged Hawks, 2 adult Red-tailed Hawks (1 light calurus, 1 dark harlani), 1 adult dark morph Ferruginous Hawk, 45 Rough-legged Hawks (39 light, 2 dark, 4u), 141 Golden Eagles (89a, 4sa, 33j, 15u), 1 male American Kestrel and 1u columbarius Merlin that was seen by Denise from the ridgetop. Movement was steady after 1000 and peaked at 61 birds between 1400 and 1500 that included 50 Golden Eagles. Only 7 Golden Eagles were seen after 1600 but 35 of the 45 Rough-legged Hawks migrated in this period including 21 after 1800. Two Mourning Cloak butterflies were also seen on the wing.

10.08 hours (185.9) BAEA 12 (110), NOHA 1 (14), SSHA 12 (565), COHA 2 (72), NOGO 6 (40), BWHA 2 (24), RTHA 2 (154), FEHA 1 (8), RLHA 45 (186), GOEA 141 (1855), AMKE 1 (12) MERL 1 (20) TOTAL 225 (3123)

Wednesday, October 17 Steeples [Day 25] 1530-1800 (Vance Mattson). The weather was again calm, cloudless and 12C but today only 4 migrants were seen: 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1j) and 2 adult Golden Eagles. At 1600, however, the resident pair of Golden Eagles displayed aggressively around what was considered to be a migrant Golden Eagle and made high-speed passes at the bird. The male then pursued the intruder for the full distance of the ridge to the south flank of Mount Bill Nye before displaying again. It is probable, however, that the intruder was in fact a non-migrant bird that had moved into the home range of the resident pair and had been chased out. At the Mount Lorette and South Livingstone-Piitaistakis sites where thousands of migratory eagles pass over occupied Golden Eagle nest sites the resident birds do not appear to regard the migrants as intruders and often perch for extended periods under a stream of migrant birds.

2.5 hours (110) BAEA 2 (85), GOEA 2 (131) TOTAL 4 (404)

Tuesday, October 16 Mount Lorette [Day 23] 0730-1930 (Dan Parliament, assisted by Rosemary and Cindy Parliament). The temperature was -5C at 0730 but rose to a high of 13C at 1600 and fell to 0C at 1930. Ground winds were SW light (0-10 km/h) all day, and ridge winds were probably SW light to possibly moderate. There was 10% altostratus cloud to 1000 after which it was cloudless. Today saw another fairly strong raptor movement with 144 migrants of 5 species moving between 1040 and 1904 comprising 12 Bald Eagles (7a, 2sa, 3j), 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2u light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks, 4 light morph Rough-legged Hawks and 125 Golden Eagles (93a, 1sa, 22j, 9u). All the eagles moved along the Fisher Range with much soaring flight in the calm conditions but most birds failed to rise higher than the ridge. Only 2 birds were initially located over Mount Lorette so again they were probably originating in the vicinity of Heart Mountain farther to the north. Only 2 Golden Eagles were seen in the morning but movement was steady throughout the afternoon and peaked at 36 birds between 1600 and 1700. Other birds seen included 28 Canada Geese that flew high to the south in 2 flocks, 1 Ruffed Grouse, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 American Dipper, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet and 25 Bohemian Waxwings. About 3 wolves howled to the east of the site at 0844. Only 5 visitors made it to the site today.

12 hours (238.8) BAEA 12 (63), SSHA 1 (52), RTHA 2 (23), RLHA 4 (22), GOEA 125 (1719) TOTAL 144 (1957)

Tuesday, October 16 Vicki Ridge [Day 20] 0845-1830 (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Hilary Atkinson, Doug and Teresa Dolman, Gord Petersen and Raymond Toal, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite). We finally had a pleasant day with a starting temperature of 6C that reached a high at 1400 of 16C and was still 11C at 1830. Winds were moderate W-WSW all day 25 km/h that gusted to 35 km/h until 1300 and it was completely cloudless. There was another strong raptor movement with 319 birds of 10 species migrating between 1057 and 1827 that comprised 14 Bald Eagles (9a, 5sa), 15 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4a, 11u), 1 adult Cooper’s Hawk, 3 adult Northern Goshawks, 1 juvenile light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 3 Red-tailed Hawks (1u light calurus, 2a dark harlani), a season-high 59 Rough-legged Hawks (49 light, 8 dark, 2u), 2 unidentified Buteos (1 light, 1 dark), 218 Golden Eagles (139a, 14 sa, 45j, 20u), 1 probable female columbarius Merlin and 2u grey morph Gyrfalcons. Fifty-eight of the Rough-legged Hawks were seen after 1621 and 13 moved after 1800. Movement was steady throughout the afternoon and peaked at 73 birds (69 Golden Eagles) from 1300-1400 and 64 birds (55 Golden Eagles) during the next hour. The warm weather also produced 5 butterflies: 1 probable Hoary Comma and 4 Mourning Cloaks.

9.75 hours (175.8) BAEA 14 (98), SSHA 15 (553), COHA 1 (70), NOGO 3 (34), BWHA 1 (22), RTHA 3 (152), RLHA 59 (141), UB 2 (25), GOEA 218 (1714), MERL 1 (19), GYRF 2 (3) TOTAL 319 (2897)

Tuesday, October 16 Steeples [Day 24] 1245-1845 (Vance Mattson). The beautiful weather continued with a temperature of 12C, calm conditions and cloudless skies that produced extended soaring flight. A total of 17 migrants of 3 species moved up to 1756 with 15 of the birds migrating after 1500 and 7 after 1700, The count was 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 adult Northern Goshawk and 15 Golden Eagles (8a, 1sa, 5j, 1u) which was the highest Golden Eagle passage at the site since the 75 counted on October 6. Non-migrants were 2 juvenile Bald Eagles that flew to the north, and 1 adult Golden Eagle.

6 hours (107.5) SSHA 1 (72), NOGO 1 (6), GOEA 15 (129) TOTAL 17 (400)

Monday, October 15 Mount Lorette [Day 22] 0650-1945 (George Halmazna, assisted by Dan Parliament and Caroline Lambert). The starting temperature was -3C, the high was 10.5C at 1600 and it was still 9C at the end of observation. Ground winds were light SW all day apart from 1300-1600 when there were gusts up to 15 km/h, and ridge winds were SW light to moderate all day. Cloud cover was 30-90% cirrus and cumulus to 0900 and then averaged 60% cirrus for the rest of the day that provided excellent observing conditions. There was another strong raptor movement of 278 birds of 4 species between 0815 and 1902 that included the second-highest Golden Eagle count of the season. The count comprised 7 Bald Eagles (6a, 1j), 1 unidentified Accipiter, 5 Red-tailed Hawks (1j light morph calurus and 4 dark morph harlani: 1a. 2j, 1u) and 265 Golden Eagles (147a, 30sa, 77j, 11u). All eagles moved mainly at ridge level along the Fisher Range having again probably originated from Heart Mountain as none were seen at Mount Lorette. Movement was steady with 46 Golden Eagles moving up to 1300 when the rate increased with subsequent maximum hourly counts of 54 (1400-1500) and 48 (1700-1800). Other birds included first seasonal records of Bohemian Waxwings (25) and Harris’s Sparrow ( an adult male), and a late record of 2 Yellow Warblers; other species included 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 1 American Robin, 3 White-winged Crossbills, 7 American Tree Sparrows and 3 Dark-eyed Juncos. The warm day also produced 2 Mourning Cloak butterflies on the wing. There were 26 visitors to the site including a party of 18 students and staff from Clearwater Academy in Calgary.

12.5 hours (226.8) BAEA 7 (51), UA 1 (6), RTHA 5 (24), GOEA 265 (1594) TOTAL 278 (1813)

Monday, October 15 Vicki Ridge [Day 19] 0830-1845 (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Hilary Atkinson, Gord Petersen, Raymond Toal, Denise Cocciolone-Amatto and Pat Lucas, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite). The temperature at 0830 was 3C, the high at 1600 was 11C and it was still 8C when the count closed at 1845. Winds were moderate to strong W-WSW 30-40 km/h regularly gusting to 50 km/h after 1330, and cloud cover was 70-100% thin cirrostratus and cirrus with minor altocumulus and cumulus throughout the day which gave hazy sunshine and excellent observing conditions. A site-record 675 migrant raptors of 7 species were recorded between 0910 and 1842 that included a record count of 611 Golden Eagles. The count was a season-high 17 Bald Eagles, 19 Sharp-shinned Hawks (2a, 17u), 2 adult Cooper’s Hawks, 1u Northern Goshawk, 1a dark morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 1 unidentified Buteo and 611 Golden Eagles (475a, 15sa, 73j, 48u). All birds moved high mainly above Vicki Ridge although there was an increasing use of Kyllo Ridge to the west in the late afternoon which resulted in a high number of unaged birds that were silhouetted against the lowering sun. Forty-six birds were seen before noon then 81 (79 Golden Eagles) moved between 1200 and 1300 and then peaked during the following hour when a remarkable 166 raptors moved of which 157 were Golden Eagles. The next 3 hours produced 122, 110 and 70 raptors respectively and then things calmed down with only 43 and 37 birds moving during the last 2 hours of observation. It was a busy day but thanks to the excellent assistants I just managed to keep on top of things.

10.25 hours (166.1) BAEA 17 (84), SSHA 19 (538), COHA 2 (69), NOGO 1 (31), RTHA 1 (149), RLHA 23 (82), UB 1 (23), GOEA 611 (1496) TOTAL 675 (2578)

Monday, October 15 Steeples [Day 23] 1530-1800 (Vance Mattson). It was another beautiful day with a temperature of 12C, calm conditions and 10-40% thin altostratus cloud cover, but only 5 migrant raptors were seen: 1 adult Bald Eagle, 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 adult intermediate morph harlani Red-tailed Hawk and 2 Golden Eagles (1a, 1j).

2.5 hours (101.5) BAEA 1 (83), SSHA 1 (71), RTHA 1 (75), GOEA 2 (114) TOTAL 5 (383)