Friday, April 17 Beaver Mines [Day 53] 0630-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0615 was 3C, the high at 1200 and 1300 was 10.5C and remained at 10C to 1700, and was still 7C at 2045. Winds were steady W-WSW 30-40 gusting to 55 km/h to 1700 after which they were W-WNW and became light at the end of observation. It was generally a cloudy day with 90-100% altostratus, altocumulus and cumulus with the exception of a brief period around noon when it reduced to 20% altocumulus and lenticular. Between 1400 and 1600 the cloud was particularly dark and opaque that made identification of high-flying birds difficult but otherwise observing conditions were reasonably good. A total of 40 migrants of 10 species moved fairly steadily between 1037 and 1921 that comprised the season’s first Osprey that brought the cumulative species total to eighteen, 8 Bald Eagles (5a, 3j), 2 female Northern Harriers (1a, 1j), 6 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1a, 5u), 1 adult Cooper’s Hawk, 1 adult Northern Goshawk, 12 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (10 light adults and 2u dark morph birds), 2 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 1 unidentified dark Buteo, 3 Golden Eagles (1a, 2sa) and 2 columbarius Merlins (1a male, 1u). The last migrant at 1827, the adult Golden Eagle, was gliding to the NNW when it suddenly veered to the SW back towards the ridge and made a hunting pass at a pair of Sandhill Cranes that were flying low against the ridge. The cranes avoided the attack in an ungainly flurry of legs and wings, and the eagle then continued its journey north but not before it was itself vigorously mobbed by a raven. Resident birds were 1 adult male Northern Harrier, 2 adult Sharp-shinned Hawks that visited the site on three occasions and 3 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks that were conspicuous in the air between 1352 and 1744. At Mount Lorette Lori Anderson reported 13 migrants of 7 species that comprised 1 Osprey, 2 Bald Eagles (1sa2 and 1 undifferentiated immature), 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 adult Cooper’s Hawk, 1 adult borealis Red-tailed Hawk, 1 unidentified Buteo, 5 Golden Eagles (2sa, 3u), and 1 female/immature richardsonii Merlin. Other birds seen at Beaver Mines were 13 Canada Geese, 6 Mallards, 16 Green-winged Teal, a pair of Common Mergansers, 3 male Wild Turkeys, 11 Rock Pigeons, 14 Sandhill Cranes that comprised the resident pair that flew down the valley at 0820, a pair that flew to the NNW at 1421, 2 pairs at 1720 (1 pair that flew to the SW and the other to the NNW), 1 pair that flew N at 1728 and the pair that narrowly avoided being a Golden Eagle’s supper at 1827, 1 Common Loon that flew high to the SW at 1916, 1 Great Blue Heron that flew to the NE at 1808, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, 1 Red-shafted Flicker, 2 Blue Jays, 50 American Crows, 20 Common Ravens, 4 Black-capped Chickadees, 4 Mountain Chickadees, 25 American Robins, 78 European Starlings, 4 Evening Grosbeaks, 5 Pine Grosbeaks, a flock of 30 Grey-crowned Rosy- Finches, 46 Dark-eyed Juncos (4 hyemalis, 12 cismontanus and 30 montanus) and 2 male Red-winged Blackbirds.

14.5 hours (558.5) OSPR 1 (1), BAEA 8 (334), NOHA 2 (23), SSHA 6 (55), COHA 1 (9), NOGO 1 (36), RTHA 12 (217), RLHA 2 (62), UB 2 (8), GOEA 3 (1071), MERL 2 (15), TOTAL 40 (1864)

Friday, April 17 Steeples [Day 41] 1300-1815 (Vance Mattson). Observation was from the Wolf Creek site which is 8 km north of the regular site, where the temperature reached 13C, cloud cover was 100% grey altostratus and conditions were calm. Two migrants were seen: an unaged Golden Eagle at 1412 and a light morph Rough-legged Hawk at 1759. Non-migrants were 1 adult Bald Eagle, 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 adult Red-tailed Hawk and the resident pair of Golden Eagles that were active from 1715 to the end of observation. The pair copulated on the edge of a cliff and five minutes later the male dropped from the cliff into a 300 metre stoop, the result of which was obscured by the forest. He returned to his mate at 1800 and after another five minutes dived headlong down the mountain side with the result again obscured by the forest.

5.25 hours (218.5) RLHA 1 (3), GOEA 1 (327) TOTAL 2 (486)

Thursday, April 16 Beaver Mines [Day 52] 0630-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0630 was -6C, the high at 1700 and 1800 was 8C and it was 5.5C at 2020. Winds were WSW all day, 15-20 km/h to 1000 and then 25-40 gusting to 50 km/h for the rest of the day. It was mainly cloudless all day with occasional traces of cirrus, with the exception of 1200 and 1630-1715 when 30% and 50% cirrus developed respectively. A total of 41 birds of 8 species moved between 1316 and 1759 which is the highest count at the site since April 9. The count was 1 adult Turkey Vulture, 6 Bald Eagles (4a, 1sa1, 1j), 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 adult dark morph Broad-winged Hawk, 18 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (12 light morphs: 11a, 1j; and 6 dark morphs: 4a, 2u), 12 Golden Eagles (5a, 3sa, 4j), 1u American Kestrel and 1 male columbarius Merlin. Eighteen birds moved between 1300 and 1400 and 11 between 1400 and 1500. Non-migrants were 1 female Northern Harrier, 1 or 2 adult male Sharp-shinned Hawks that visited the site on four occasions between 0748 and 1719, and 2 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks.

At Mount Lorette Graeme Dunlop reported 35 migrants of a season-high 10 species that comprised the season’s first Osprey, 9 Bald Eagles (4a, 1sa, 4j), 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1a, 2u), 1 adult Northern Goshawk, 5 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks, 2 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 11 Golden Eagles (1a, 1sa, 7j, 2u), 1u American Kestrel, 1 adult female columbarius Merlin and 1 unidentified large falcon. Eighteen migrants moved between 1200 and 1400. Other birds seen at Beaver Mines were 21 Canada Geese, 17 Mallards, 20 Green-winged Teal, a lek of 32 Wild Turkeys, 15 Rock Pigeons, a pair of Greater Sandhill Cranes, 2 Killdeer, 3 Red-shafted Flickers, 1 Steller’s Jay, 3 Blue Jays, 50 American Crows, 19 Common Ravens, 4 Black-capped Chickadees, 4 Mountain Chickadees, 1 male Mountain Bluebird, 15 American Robins, 1 male Varied Thrush, 42 European Starlings, 11 Evening Grosbeak, 4 Pine Grosbeaks, a flock of 100 Grey-crowned Rosy- Finches and 60 Dark-eyed Juncos (10 hyemalis, 8 cismontanus and 50 montanus).

14 hours (644) TUVU 1 (3), BAEA 6 (326), SSHA 1 (49), BWHA 1 (3), RTHA 18 (205), GOEA 12 (1068), AMKE 1 (5), MERL 1 (13) TOTAL 41 (1824)

Thursday, April 16 Steeples [Day 39] 1300-1730 (Vance Mattson). The temperature reached 13C, it was calm to 1630 after which light S winds developed and it was cloudless. Two migrants were seen: an adult probable female Peregrine Falcon at 1536 and a subadult 3 Bald Eagle at 1601. Non migrants were 4 Turkey Vultures and 2 adult Bald Eagles.

4.5 hours (213.3) BAEA 1 (133), PEFA 1 (1) TOTAL 2 (484)

Wednesday, April 15 Beaver Mines [Day 51] 0630-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0630 was -2C the high at 1200 and 1300 was 2C and it was again -2C at 2030. Winds were N-NNE all day 20-30 gusting to 45 km/h that dropped to less than 20 km/h after 1900. Cloud cover was 100% stratus with moderate to light snow that obscured the ridge to 1130 when the ridge cleared to 1225, but was obscured again to 1245 and again between 1315 and 1355 when the snow finally stopped leaving 15 cm fresh on the ground. The rest of the day varied between 50% cumulus that brought sunny periods and 100% stratocumulus that produced brief light flurries between 1752 and 1845 but the ridge remained clear. Only 2 migrant raptors were seen: an adult Golden Eagle at 1439 and 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk at 1520. Non-migrants were 1 juvenile Bald Eagle, 2 and possibly more adult male Sharp-shinned Hawks that hunted at the site, 1 adult Northern Goshawk and 2 pairs of resident Red-tailed Hawks that soared high on the windward side of the ridge between 1748 and 1808 with males occasionally displaying. Caroline Lambert reported that no observation was possible at Mount Lorette as snow fell all day and the mountains were obscured.  Other birds seen at Beaver Mines were 20 Canada Geese, 16 Mallards, 20 Green-winged Teal, 9 Wild Turkeys, 10 Rock Pigeons, a pair of Greater Sandhill Cranes, and the bird of the day, an adult Whooping Crane that flew low to the NE above the valley at 1357 just after the snow had ended and bright sunshine illuminated the huge white crane with conspicuous black wingtips. This is the third time the bird has been seen here on a spring count, the previous two being 2016 April 12 and 2017 April 16 Other birds were 1 Killdeer, 1 Red-shafted Flicker, 2 Blue Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 9 American Crows, 50 Common Ravens, 6 Black-capped Chickadees, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 1 American Robin, 16 European Starlings, 1 Evening Grosbeak, a flock of 50 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches of which 2 were the race littoralis, 1 American Tree Sparrow and 80 Dark-eyed Juncos (4 hyemalis, 6 cismontanus and 70 montanus) that were somewhat reduced following 7 attacks by up to 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks between 0850 and 1926.

14 hours (630) SSHA 1 (48), GOEA 1 (1056) TOTAL 2 (1783)

Wednesday, April 15 Steeples [Day 38] 1330-1800 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 10C, winds were moderate N and cloud cover was 50% cumulus that gave sunny conditions. No migrants were seen and non-migrants were 4 Turkey Vultures, 1 adult Red-tailed Hawk and 1 adult Golden Eagle. The drive to the site produced an adult male Northern Harrier hunting low over a field, and the return trip saw a perched American Kestrel that was the first for the area this year.

4.5 hours (208.8) TOTAL 0 (482)

Tuesday, April 14 Beaver Mines [Day 50] 0630-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0630 was 0C, the high at 1700 was 8.5C and it was 5C at 2030. Winds were WSW-SW 25 gusting to 40 km/h to 1900 when they were W 20 km/h and became very light W at 2000, Cloud cover was 40-100% altostratus, altocumulus and cumulus that gave hazy sunshine for much of the day to 1700 after which it was 100% uniform grey stratus to the end of observation. Observing conditions were very good which was just as well as all movement was high to very high and several birds needed up to four minutes of telescope observation before an identification could be made. The day’s count was 24 migrants of 8 species that moved between 1104 and 1720 and comprised 1 juvenile Bald Eagle, 1u Northern Harrier, 2u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 light morph Swainson’s Hawks (1a, 1u), 10 adult Red-tailed Hawks (9 calurus: 5 light and 4 dark morphs, and 1 dark morph harlani), 1 unidentified dark morph Buteo, 4 Golden Eagles (3a, 1j), 2 American Kestrels (1 female, 1u) and 1 male columbarius Merlin. Non-migrants were 3 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks and a hunting adult male Sharp-shinned Hawk at 1824. At Mount Lorette Dan Parliament reported 25 migrants of 4 species that comprised 6 Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa, 2j, 2u), 3u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1u Northern Goshawk and 18 Golden Eagles (8a, 1sa, 2j, 4u). Other birds seen at Beaver Mines were 10 Canada Geese, 3 American Wigeon, 18 Mallards, 30 Green-winged Teal, 3 Wild Turkeys, 18 Rock Pigeons, 7 Greater Sandhill Cranes, and 1 Lesser Sandhill Crane that flew low to the SW in the company of 3 Greater Sandhill Cranes at 0945, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 3 Red-shafted Flickers, 3 Blue Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 37 American Crows, 56 Common Ravens, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 7 American Robins, 10 European Starlings, 5 Evening Grosbeaks, 4 Pine Grosbeaks, 12 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 110 Dark-eyed Juncos (3 hyemalis, 7 cismontanus and 100 montanus), and 1 male Red-winged Blackbird.

14 hours (616) BAEA 1 (320), NOHA 1 (21), SSHA 2 (47), SWHA 2 (3), RTHA 10 (187), UB 1 (6), GOEA 4 (1055), AMKE 2 (4), MERL 1 (12) TOTAL 24 (1781)

Tuesday, April 14 Steeples [Day 38] 1245-1800 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 10C, it was calm and cloud cover was 100% altostratus, cumulus and lenticular that slightly obscured the ridges from 1730 to 1800. No migrants were seen and there were only brief sightings of non-migrants that comprised 5 Turkey Vultures, a pair of Bald Eagles, a Red-tailed Hawk seen four times and a single resident Golden Eagle.

5.75 hours (204.3) TOTAL 0 (482)

Monday, April 13 Beaver Mines [Day 49] 0630-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0630 was -15C, the high from 1600 to 1900 was 4C and it was 1C at 2030. Winds were ENE 5-15 km/h to 1430 when they shifted to SW-WSW for the rest of the day, 15-30 occasionally gusting to 40 km/h. Cloud cover was 0-40% cumulus and altocumulus to 1600 after which it was cloudless for the rest of the day. A total of 23 migrant raptors of 7 species was seen between 1130 and 1733 that comprised 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1j), 1 adult Cooper’s Hawk, 1u light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 9 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (6 light morphs (5a, 1u) and 3 adult dark morphs), 1 adult dark morph Ferruginous Hawk, 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 1 dark) and 7 Golden Eagles (1a, 1sa, 5j). Eighteen of the birds moved between 1456 and 1733 and it is probable that earlier in the day birds were moving on ridges to the SW of the site as the favourable westerly flow started earlier there. Up to 3 adult male Sharp-shinned Hawks hunted at the site at 0910. 1223 and 1755 and 3 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks were conspicuous over the ridge between 1419 and 1622, with a pair copulated atop a large Douglas Fir high on the ridge at 1445. At Mount Lorette Blake Weis reported 44 migrants of 8 species that comprised 9 Bald Eagles (4a, 4sa and 1 undifferentiated immature bird), 1 adult female Northern Harrier, 4 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1a, 3u), 1 adult Cooper’s Hawk, 5 Northern Goshawks (4a, 1u), 2 small unidentified Accipiters, 2 Red-tailed Hawks (1 adult light morph calurus and 1 bird of unknown race, morph or age), 18 Golden Eagles (3a, 3sa, 7j, 5u), 1u American Kestrel and 1 medium-sized unidentified raptor. Other birds seen at Beaver Mines were 14 Canada Geese, 24 Mallards, 30 Green-winged Teal, 30 Rock Pigeons, a pair of Sandhill Cranes, 1 Killdeer, 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Downy Woodpecker, 3 Red-shafted Flickers, 1 Northern Shrike, 3 Blue Jays, 12 American Crows, 12 Common Ravens, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 1 American Robin, 37 European Starlings, 18 Evening Grosbeaks, 24 Pine Grosbeaks, 24 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 1 American Tree Sparrow and 70 Dark-eyed Juncos (4 hyemalis, 6 cismontanus and 60 montanus).

14 hours (602) BAEA 2 (319), COHA 1 (8), BWHA 1 (2), RTHA 9 (177), FEHA 1 (3), RLHA 2 (60), GOEA 7 (1951) TOTAL 23 (1757)

Monday, April 13 Steeples [Day 37] 1230-1800 (Vance Mattson). The temperature rose to 8C from a starting temperature of 4C and it was calm and cloudless throughout. A total of 7 migrants of 3 species were seen that comprised 3 Bald Eagles (2a, 1j), 2 adult Sharp-shinned Hawks and 2 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks. Five of the migrants occurred between 1346 and 1436. Non migrants were 7 Turkey Vultures, 4 adult Bald Eagles that at one time perched together on a prominent fir on the ridge, and three sightings of single Red-tailed Hawks including one that soared over the site with prey in its talons before descending to its nest located west of the site.

5.5 hours (198.5) BAEA 3 (132), SSHA 2 (3), RTHA 2 (9) TOTAL 7 (482)