Tuesday, October 06 Vicki Ridge [Day 17] 0810-1910 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson assisted by Raymond Toal (1615-1705) observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge, and Gord Petersen and Cathy Scrimshaw at the western edge of Kyllo Ridge at the Waterton 68 wellsite, 0945-1900). It was again a warm and windy day with a temperature of 14C at 0810, a high of 21 at 1500-1700 and a finishing temperature of 17C at 1910. Winds were again strong WSW-W for most of the day day gusting 50-60 km/k and reaching 80 km/h on the western ridge that only moderated to 30-40 km/h after 1800. Cloud cover was 30-40% altocumulus, lenticular and cirrus with minor cumulus to the west until 1630 after which it was 40-60% cumulus. It was sunny all day and observing conditions were excellent. Following the strong movement at Mount Lorette the previous day we were expecting a high count and it appeared that this was going to happen when 9 Golden Eagles moved high to the south between 0914 and 0952 but by 1645 when the last migrant was seen the count at Waterton 61 was a disappointing 31 migrants of 5 species. The total comprised 4u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1a Cooper’s Hawk, 4a calurus Red-tailed Hawks (3 light, 1 dark), 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 1 dark) and only 20 Golden Eagles (17a, 3j).  Once again the strong winds favoured movement on the western ridge and the Waterton 68 site produced a total of 84 birds of 5 species between 0943 and 1852 that comprised 30 Sharp-shinned Hawks (5a, 25u), 4 Red-tailed Hawks (1 light a and 1dark j calurus, and 2a harlani (1 light, 1 dark), 4 Rough-legged Hawks (2 light, 2 dark), 45 Golden Eagles (26a, 4sa, 13j, 2u) and 1u Merlin. Most birds moved close to the ridge and very few birds were seen moving west of the site along the Carbondale Ridge. The combined species count was 115 migrants of 6 species that moved between 0914 and 1852 and comprised 34 Sharp-shinned Hawks (5a, 29u), 1a Cooper’s Hawk, 8 Red-tailed Hawks (calurus 6: 4a light, 1a, 1j dark, and 2a harlani (1 light 1 dark)), 6 Rough-legged Hawks (3 light, 3 dark), 65 Golden Eagles (43a, 4sa, 16j, 2u) and 1u Merlin. Other bird species were 1a light morph Parasitic Jaeger photographed by Gord at 1345, 7 Black-billed Magpies, 12 American Crows, 132 Common Ravens, 2 Mountain Bluebirds (1 male, 1 female) that perched at the Waterton 61 site and fed on grasshoppers in the morning, and 7 American Robins.

11 hours (187.4) SSHA 34 (635), COHA 1 (193), RTHA 8 (173), RLHA 6 (31), GOEA 65 (672), MERL 1 (22) TOTAL 115 (1782)

Tuesday, October 06 Mount Lorette [Day 17] 0745-1930 (George Halmazna assisted by Dan Parliament). For the second consecutive day there was a significant Golden Eagle movement at the site with 255 birds recorded. Other raptors were 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa), 5 Sharp-shinned Hawks (2a, 3u), 5 Northern Goshawks (3a, 1j, 1u), 2a calurus Red-tailed Hawks (1 light, 1 intermediate), 1 light morph Rough-legged Hawk, 1u columbarius Merlin and the first Gyrfalcon of the season, an adult light grey morph for a total of 272 migrants of 8 species.

11.75 hours (206.6) BAEA 2 (57), SSHA 5 (88), NOGO 5 (35), RTHA 2 (52), RLHA 1 (10), GOEA 255 (1293), MERL 1 (10), GYRF 1 (1) TOTAL 272 (1607)

Tuesday, October 06 Steeples [Day 4] 1615-1800 (Vance Mattson). The prospect of raptor migration seemed good with moderate to strong SW winds blowing into the early afternoon, but when Vance arrived at the site at 1615 winds were light W, the temperature was 23C and cloud cover was 60% cumulus with some smoke haze from a nearby controlled burn. The only migrant seen was an adult Bald Eagle, and a resident Red-tailed Hawk hunted to the southwest. 1.75 hours (7.75) BAEA 1 (1) TOTAL 1 (6)

Monday, October 05 Vicki Ridge [Day 16] 0750-1910 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge, and Gord Petersen at the western edge of Kyllo Ridge at the Waterton 68 wellsite, 1310-1850). It was yet another warm and windy day with a temperature of 11C at 0750 rising to a high of 21C at 1600 and it was still 17C at 1910. Winds were strong W-WSW all day gusting 60-70 km/h that peaked at 85 km/h around 1500. It was cloudless to 1000 and again at 1200 but the rest of the day saw a rapidly changing kaleidoscope of 30-70% altocumulus, altostratus, cirrus cirrocumulus and lenticular clouds that generally gave excellent observing conditions. The count at the Waterton 61 site was 47 birds of 9 species between 1031 and 1816 that comprised 1j Bald Eagle, 1j male Northern Harrier, 8 Sharp-shinned Hawks (3a, 5u), 1a Cooper’s Hawk, 1a light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 3a calurus Red-tailed Hawks (2 light, 1 dark), 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 1 dark), 29 Golden Eagles (19a, 4sa, 5j, 1u) and 1u female columbarius Merlin. The highest hourly count was 10 between 1100 and 1200. At the Waterton 68 site there was a total of 66 migrants of 6 species that moved between 1316 and 1832 and comprised 1a Bald Eagle, 21 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1a, 3j, 17u), 1j calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 1 light morph Rough-legged Hawk, 38 Golden Eagles (16a, 2sa, 7j, 3u), 3 unidentified eagles and 1u columbarius Merlin. The highest hourly count was 17 between 1400 and 1500. The combined species count was 113 migrants of 9 species that moved between 1031 and 1832 and comprised 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1j), 1j male Northern Harrier, 29 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4a, 3j, 22u), 1a Cooper’s Hawk, 1a light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 4 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (2a, 1j light and 1a dark), 3 Rough-legged Hawks (2 light, 1 dark), 67 Golden Eagles (35a, 6sa, 12j, 4u), 3 unidentified eagles and 2 columbarius Merlins (1 female, 1u). The highest combined site hourly counts were 21 between 1400 and 15 and again between 1600 and 1700. Only 5 other bird species were seen: 7 Black-billed Magpies, 93 Common Ravens, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 18 American Robins and 8 Pine Siskins.

11.33 hours (176.4) BAEA 2 (40, NOHA 1 (17), SSHA 29 (601), COHA 1 (102), BWHA 1 (17), RTHA 4 (165), RLHA 3 (25), GOEA 67 (607), UE 3 (5), MERL 2 (21) TOTAL 113 (1667)

Monday, October 05 Mount Lorette [Day 16] 0800-1950 (Caroline Lambert assisted by Graeme Dunlop). A season-high total of 295 migrant raptors of 8 species was counted that comprised 2a Bald Eagles, 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1a, 2u), 1u Cooper’s Hawk, 1u Northern Goshawk, 1 unidentified small Accipiter, 6 Red-tailed Hawks (5u calurus light morphs and 1j harlani intermediate morph), a season high count of 275 Golden Eagles (129a, 22sa, 16j, 108u), 1 indeterminate eagle, 2u columbarius Merlins, 1j Prairie Falcon and 2 unidentified falcons (1 large and 1 small). There was a major influx of Golden Eagles late in the day when poor lighting conditions made aging of the birds impossible.

11.83 hours (194.8), BAEA 2 (55), SSHA 3 (83), COHA 1 (13), NOGO 1 (30), UA 1 (5), RTHA 6 (50), GOEA 275 (1038), UE 1 (6), MERL 2 (9), PRFA 1 (3), UF 2 (5) TOTAL 295 (1335)

Monday, October 05 Steeples (Vance Mattson).  No observation.

Sunday, October 04 Vicki Ridge [Day 15] 0800-1900 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge, and Gord Petersen, Cathy Scrimshaw and Dave McNeil on the ridgetop at the northern end of Vicki Ridge, 1300-1645. The temperature at 0800 was 14 C, the high at 1400 and 1500 was 21C and it was 17C at 1900. Winds were moderate to strong W-WSW all day, 30-40 gusting 50-60 km/h with occasional gusts to 70 km/h especially around noon. It was cloudless with a very light smoke haze to 1100 when traces of cumulus cloud appeared to the north and after 1200 cloud cover was 40-90% altocumulus, altostratus, lenticular and cirrus with up to 40% dark cumulus cloud moving from the west after 1730. At Waterton 61 a total of 64 migrants of a season-low total of 4 species were seen between 0850 and 1822 that comprised 1j Bald Eagle. 14 Sharp-shinned Hawks (5a, 9u), 9 Red-tailed Hawks (7 calurus: 4a and 2j light morphs and 1 a dark morph; and 1a and 1j dark morph harlani) and 40 Golden Eagles (27a, 1sa, 12j). Peak movement was 12 migrants between 1000 and 1100 and again between 1100 and 1200. The observers on the ridge at the northern end of Vicki Ridge were primarily there to photograph Golden Eagles in flight as the birds are usually much closer to the ridge at that point. They recorded an additional 12 migrants of 5 species between 1250 and 1630 that were not seen a couple of kilometres to the south at the Waterton 61 site. These comprised 1j Northern Harrier, 6 Sharp-shinned Hawks (3a, 1j, 2u), 1a light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 2 Golden Eagles (1a, 1j) and 2u columbarius Merlins. The combined species count was 76 migrants of 7 species seen between 0850 and 1822 that comprised 1j Bald Eagle, 1j Northern Harrier, 20 Sharp-shinned Hawks (8a, 1j, 11u), 1a light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 9 Red-tailed Hawks (7 calurus: 4a and 2j light morphs and 1 a dark morph; and 1a and 1j dark morph harlani), 42 Golden Eagles (28a, 1sa, 13j) and 2u columbarius Merlins. Only 4 0ther bird species were seen: 10 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 6 Black-billed Magpies, 24 Common Ravens and 40 American Robins.

11 hours (165.1) BAEA 1 (38), NOHA 1 (16), SSHA 20 (572), BWHA 1 (16), RTHA 9 (161), GOEA 42 (540), MERL 2 (19) TOTAL 76 (1554)

Sunday, October 04 Mount Lorette [Day 15] 0730-1930 (Lori Anderson assisted by Patrick Farley). A total of 100 migrant raptors of 5 species was recorded that comprised 1u Bald Eagle, 3u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1a light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 92 Golden Eagles (62a, 4sa, 5j, 21u), 2 unidentified eagles and 1 large unidentified falcon.

12 hours (183) BAEA 1 (53), SSHA 3 (80), RTHA 1 (44), GOEA 92 (763), UE 2 (5), UF 1 (3) TOTAL 100 (1040)

Sunday, October 04 Steeples [Day 3] 1400-1600 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 21C, winds were light SW and cloud cover was 100% altostratus, cumulus and lenticular. Only 1 unaged Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen moving south, and the only other raptor recorded was a subadult Bald Eagle that moved to the north.

2 hours (6) SSHA 1 (2) TOTAL 1 (5)

Saturday, October 03 Vicki Ridge [Day 14] 0800-1915 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge, and Gord Petersen and Cathy Scrimshaw at the western edge of Kyllo Ridge at the Waterton 68 wellsite, 1345-1855). The temperature at 0800 was 9C, the high at 1500 and 1600 was 23C and it was still 18C at 1815. Winds were W-WSW all day, 10-20 km/h to 1030, 20-30 km/h to 1300, 30-40 km/h to 1700 and finally 30 gusting 50 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 60-30% thin cirrostratus and altostratus to noon after which it was cloudless for the rest of the day. There was again a persistent very light smoke haze that did not affect the viewing conditions. The count at Waterton 61 was 64 birds of 10 species between 0945 and 1911 that comprised 2u Bald Eagles, 3 Northern Harriers (2 males (1a, 1j) and 1j female), 23 Sharp-shinned Hawks (3a, 2j, 18u), 2a Cooper’s Hawks, 5 Northern Goshawks (4a, 1j), 1a dark morph Broad-winged Hawk, 9 Red-tailed Hawks (calurus 7: 4 light (3a, 1u) and 3a dark; and 2 dark harlani (1a, 1j), 1u Rough-legged Hawk, 17 Golden Eagles (7a, 2sa, 5j, 3u) and 1u columbarius Merlin. The most productive hours were 11 between 1300 and 1400, and 14 between 1400 and 1500. The count at the Waterton 68 site was 62 birds of 7 species that were seen between 1352 and 1833 and comprised 1 Osprey, 1j Bald Eagle, 29 Sharp-shinned Hawks (5a, 24u), 5 Cooper’s Hawks (2a, 2j, 1u), 1a intermediate morph harlani Red-tailed Hawk, 23 Golden Eagles (7a, 2sa, 4j, 10u) and 2 Merlins (1u richardsonii, and 1 indeterminate bird). The highest single-hour count was 18 between 1500 and 1600. The combined species count 126 birds of 11 species between 0945 and 1911 was 1 Osprey, 3 Bald Eagles (1j, 2u), 3 Northern Harriers (2 males (1a, 1j) and 1j female), 52 Sharp-shinned Hawks (8a, 2j, 42u), 7 Cooper’s Hawks (4a, 2j, 1u), 5 Northern Goshawks (4a, 1j), 1a dark morph Broad-winged Hawk, 10 Red-tailed Hawks (calurus 7: 4 light (3a, 1u) and 3a dark; and 3 harlani: 2 dark morphs (1a, 1j) and 1a intermediate morph, 1u Rough-legged Hawk, 40 Golden Eagles (14a, 4sa, 9j, 13u) and 3 Merlins (1u columbarius, 1u richardsonii, and 1 indeterminate bird). The four combined-site hourly counts between 1400 and 1800 were 24, 22, 21 and 23 which reflect the relatively uniform migration conditions at the time. Other birds seen were 8 Blue Jays that flew high to the south above the valley at 0855, 2 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 6 Black-billed Magpies, 444 Common Ravens most of which were seen at the Waterton 68 site flying to roost in the late afternoon, 36 American Robins and  45 Pine Siskins.

11.25 hours (154.1) OSPR 1 (6), BAEA 3 (37), NOHA 3 (15), SSHA 52 (552), COHA 7 (101), NOGO 5 (17), BWHA 1 (15), RTHA 10 (152), RLHA 1 (22), GOEA 40 (498), MERL 3 (17) TOTAL 126 (1478)

Saturday, October 03 Mount Lorette [Day 14] 0750-1920 (Blake Weis assisted by Heinz Unger). The observers counted a total of 70 migrant raptors of 5 species that comprised 1 Osprey, 2a Bald Eagles, 2u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2a light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks and 63 Golden Eagles (25a, 9sa, 12j, 17u).

11.5 hours (171) OSPR 1 (5), BAEA 2 (52), SSHA 2 (77), RTHA 2 (43), GOEA 63 (671) TOTAL 70 (940)

Saturday, October 03 Steeples [Day 2] 1300-1500 (Vance Mattson). It was cloudless and windless with a temperature of 20C which made observing conditions very pleasant but was not conducive to raptor movement and only 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk was seen migrating. This year’s resident juvenile Golden Eagle was seen soaring at length in front of and above the ridge while being constantly harassed by an energetic juvenile Northern Harrier.  The harrier bombed the eagle for 15 minutes, eventually producing a barrel-roll in the eagle before the eagle glided behind the ridge. The harrier then engaged a solitary raven in a duel that lasted approximately 20 minutes with the harrier easily out-flying the raven throughout. There were also single sightings of an adult Golden Eagle and a juvenile Bald Eagle.

2 hours (4) RTHA 1 (2) TOTAL 1 (4)

Friday, October 02 Vicki Ridge [Day 10] 0800-1920 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge, with Doug and Teresa Dolmen, Denise Cocciolone-Amatto, Raymond Toal  and John Kinnear on the ridge-top; and Gord Petersen and Cathy Scrimshaw at the western edge of Kyllo Ridge at the Waterton 68 wellsite, 1345-1855). The temperature at 0800 was 6C, the high at 1500 and 1600 was 20C and it was 15C at 1910. Winds were variable ENE- SE all day, mainly light but occasionally gusting to 20 km/h in the late afternoon. It was cloudless all day with a persistent very light smoke haze that did not affect the viewing conditions. Despite these unpromising conditions observers at Waterton 61 and on the ridgetop counted a total of 90 migrant raptors of 9 species between 1006 and 1832 that comprised 2j Northern Harriers (1 female, 1u), 11 Sharp-shinned Hawks (5a, 6u), 2a Cooper’s Hawks, 3 small unidentified Accipiters, 2 light morph Broad-winged Hawks (1a, 1j), 18 Red-tailed Hawks (16 calurus: 10 light morphs (7a, 3u) and 6 dark morphs (5a, 1u); 1a dark morph harlani; and 1 undifferentiated bird), 3 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 1 dark, 1u), 1 undifferentiated dark Buteo, 44 Golden Eagles (24a, 7sa, 11j, 2u), 2 American Kestrels (1 male, 1 female) and 2 Prairie Falcons. The highest hourly count was 28 birds between 1100 and 1200 that included 24 Golden Eagles and seemed to presage a significant movement, but subsequently movement gradually dwindled and only 6 migrants were counted after 1600. The count at Waterton 68 where the wind was very light throughout was only 5 birds, 1u Coopers Hawk and 4 Golden Eagles (1a, 1j, 2u between 1345 and 1855. Other birds recorded were 9 Canada Geese, 1 Northern Pygmy-Owl on the ridgetop, 4 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 5 Black-billed Magpies, 160 Common Ravens most of which flew west to roost in the late afternoon, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 5 Red-breasted Nuthatches that mobbed the pygmy-owl,  20 American Robins, 50 Pine Siskins and 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler.

11.16 hours (142.8) NOHA 2 (12), SSHA 11 (500), COHA 3 (94), UA 3 (6), BWHA 2 (14), RTHA 18 (142), RLHA 3 (21), UB 1 (7), GOEA 48 (458), AMKE 2 (13), PRFA 2 (4) TOTAL 95 (1352)

Friday, October 02 Mount Lorette [Day 12] 0730-1900 (Joel Duncan assisted by Caroline Lambert). After yesterday’s big count today’s total of 32 migrants of 5 species was disappointing and comprised 1sa Bald Eagle, 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1u Cooper’s Hawk, 1u light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk , 27 Golden Eagles (12a, 2sa, 6j 4u) and 1 small unidentified raptor.

12.5 hours (159.5) BAEA 1 (50), SSHA 1 (75), COHA 1 (12), RTHA 1 (41), GOEA 27 (608), UU 1 (2) TOTAL 32 (870)

Friday, October 02 Steeples [Day 1] 1300-1500 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 16C, and it was calm and cloudless with a slight smoke haze. One adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1a light calurus Red-tailed Hawk and 1 female American Kestrel were the only migrants noted.

2 hours SSHA 1, RTHA 1, AMKE 1 TOTAL 3