Mount Lorette (01 Apr 2023) 21 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 01, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 3 | 89 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 18 | 18 | 1457 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 21 | 21 | 1574 |
| Observation start time: | 06:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Allison Zukewich |
Visitors:
15 visitors stopped to talk. 2 stayed briefly to watch for raptors.
Weather:
At the start of the day it was 0C and fairly windy with gusts up to 20 km/h from the SW. In the afternoon the wind died down and the temperature rose to 3C. Ridge wind was from the NW, strong in the morning and light to moderate in the afternoon. Cloud cover varied from 40%-80% until the end of the day. Scattered snowstorms partially obscured some of the mountain ridges and sent occasional flurries into the valley in the afternoon. Around 5 pm a larger storm moved in from the west bringing heavier snow. The weather radar showed no sign of it clearing so the count was concluded at 6 pm.
Raptor Observations:
Migration was slow until the last couple hours when a short burst of activity proceeded the larger snowstorm. The total count for the day was 18 Golden Eagles (9a, 2sa, 7u) and 3 adult Bald Eagles. 14 of the Golden Eagles were counted after 4 pm. Most of them were flapping and soaring low along the eastern ridges, but some glided high from Mt. Kidd to Olympic Summit. The relatively heavy cloud cover created good conditions for spotting but often made ageing difficult. Resident raptors included the Golden Eagle pair (one displaying), two sub-adult Bald Eagles, and at least one adult Northern Goshawk seen several times (also displaying).
Non-raptor Observations:
1 Canada Goose 1 Ruffed Grouse (Drumming) 1 Belted Kingfisher (Male) 1 Pileated Woodpecker 2 Canada Jay 11 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 Brown Creeper 4 European Starling 1 Varied Thrush 3 American Robin 40 Bohemian Waxwing 1 Pine Grosbeak 2 White-winged Crossbill 1 Pine Siskin 2 Dark-eyed Junco (unknown ssp.) 1 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
1 Mink was seen along the river early in the morning 5 Red Squirrels
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (31 Mar 2023) 12 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 31, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 86 | 86 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 11 | 1439 | 1439 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 12 | 1553 | 1553 |
| Observation start time: | 06:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Ruth Morrow |
Visitors:
About half a dozen passers by stopped to ask about the activity. A couple came with binoculars and stayed for a bit.
Weather:
The day started out with cloudless blue skies and strong southwest ridge winds as evidenced by the snow blowing off the ridges all day. The temperature started at -7C, hit a high of 4C, and finished at 1C. Ground wind was from the west and kept us cool all day. Upper winds were moderate from the west. Clouds started appearing soon after the sun rose over the east ridge and gradually built up until by 17:00 both ridges were hidden, and it was snowing. We waited for an hour, by which time the east ridge was clearing up a bit, but the weather forecast and radar were indicating that this would be a brief respite, and with snow to the south we packed it in about an hour early.
Raptor Observations:
After several days of eagles soaring and flapping and making slow progress to the north, we thought the strong southwest winds this morning would favour a strong movement of migrants. However, it was not to be. The few eagles seen were indeed making fast and effortless progress, gliding high above the east ridge and sometimes almost overhead, but they were few indeed. The totals were 11 Golden Eagles (6a, 5u) and one adult Bald Eagle.
There were just two non-migrant raptors – one adult Golden Eagle flying from Lorette to Nakiska, and one adult Bald Eagle hunting over Hummingbird Plume.
Non-raptor Observations:
The day started out well with a singing dipper, singing robins, and several singing juncos. 15 Snow Geese flew over Patrick, and two skeins of Canada Geese, totalling 16, flew over the valley. Later in the day a flock of about 25 Bohemian Waxwings flew across the valley. But by afternoon most bird activity had ceased. Other birds were: Common Merganser 1, Common Raven 6, Black-capped Chickadee 2, Mountain Chickadee 1, Pine Siskin 3
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (30 Mar 2023) 66 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 30, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 85 | 85 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Goshawk | 1 | 11 | 11 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 61 | 1428 | 1428 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 66 | 1541 | 1541 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 12.58 hours |
| Official Counter | Ethan Denton |
| Observers: | Rick Robb |
Visitors:
28 of which 9 stopped to talk
Weather:
A warmer day, getting up to +5 by the late efternoon. Ground winds were largely from the NE, and increased gradually throughout the day. It was sunny and mostly cloudless.
Raptor Observations:
Following two big days, the Goldens slowed down a bit, with just above 60 birds passing today. Most appeared over the western ridge between 10:00 and 12:00, but the few that we saw in the afternoon had mostly switched to the Eastern side. Additonal raptors included one migrant Goshawk, a small accipitor which vanished quickly, and 3 Bald Eagles.
The resident pair of Goldens were active, with one regularly pursuing migrants out of his territory. The resident Goshawk was also quite active, and made several appearances.
Non-raptor Observations:
Apart from the usual handful of Robins, Siskins, Juncos, and Chickadees, it wasn’t too busy. In the late afternoon a flock of about 70 Snow Geese passed high over the bumps. Tom the resident American Dipper popped by as the sun was setting, but didn’t stay for long.
Report submitted by Ethan Denton (ethan@suechick.com)
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (29 Mar 2023) 212 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 29, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 7 | 82 | 82 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 204 | 1367 | 1367 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 212 | 1475 | 1475 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 12.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Cindy Parliament, Dan Parliament, Sandy Graham |
Visitors:
Three people came with binoculars during the busiest part of the day, which was extremely helpful. With two extra observers for a few hours, we had seven pairs of eyes on the sky, at least for a while. About seven other people stopped to enquire about the activity.
Weather:
It was another mild and mostly sunny day at the site, with a few cirrus clouds and a slight haze that made tracking eagles over the west ridge tricky. The temperature started at -15C, rose to +5C by late afternoon, and finished at 0C. Ground winds were light all day, picking up a bit from the north-northeast at the end of the day. At one point both of us heard the sound of a train blowing its horn, which could only have been a train passing Seebe Dam – the sound was presumably carried up the valley by the wind. Ridge winds were light as no snow was seen blowing off the ridges.
Raptor Observations:
And thick and fast they came at last, and more and more and more, all hopping through the frothy clouds, and scrambling to the north. Or something like that (apologies to Lewis Carroll). After weeks of below average numbers, the last few days have closed the gap between this year’s low numbers so far and what is normal to date, at least a bit.
The light winds resulted in the eagles having to use a combination of soaring and powered flight most of the time. Most of the day the movement was on the west ridge, with an odd one or two on the east ridge to keep us on our toes. At one point there was a kettle of about 18 eagles over Nakiska, and very soon after those eagles had moved on, another one of 22 eagles formed. In the three hours from 11:00 to 14:00 there were 35, 36, and 63 Golden Eagles respectively. Right at the end of the day, soon after 18:00, there was a flurry of activity on the east ridge, and at one point we had 14 eagles soaring over Mt Lorette. So beautiful and mesmerizing to watch!
The end totals for migrant raptors were 204 Golden Eagles (126a, 8sa, 5j, 2ui, 63u), 7 Bald Eagles (5a, 2j), and one unidentified eagle.
In addition, the local Golden Eagle was busy doing display dives on the west ridge, and a couple of adult Bald Eagles were hunting in the area, as was a Northern Goshawk.
Non-raptor Observations:
There was disappointingly little activity in the way of other birds. It’s about time Mountain Bluebirds showed up, but they are still missing. Other birds were: Hairy Woodpecker 1, Canada Jay 1, Common Raven 9, Black-capped Chickadee 3, Mountain Chickadee 1, American Robin 3, Pine Siskin 4, Dark-eyed Junco 1 (singing!)
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (28 Mar 2023) 261 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 28, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 9 | 75 | 75 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 248 | 1163 | 1163 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 261 | 1263 | 1263 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 12 hours |
| Official Counter | Ethan Denton |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch |
Visitors:
We had 12 visitors today, 3 of whom stopped to help spot for significant amounts of time.
Weather:
It was overcast in the morning, but cleared quickly into blue skies with a scattering of (mainly cumulus) clouds. We started out at -14, which rose to 0, but it never really felt cold, because there were almost no ground level winds. Ridge winds seemed calm until about 13:30 or so, and increased steadily from there. By 16:00 the eagles were generally moving quite quickly.
Raptor Observations:
An excellent day for migrant raptors, with 248 Goldens, 9 Bald Eagles, and the first Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks of the season. The eagles preferred the western ridge early on, switching notably around 14:00 to a flight path high above the eastern side of the valley. A powerful thermal over Old Baldie caught many of our migrants in the afternoon, with as many as 26 Golden Eagles using it at one time! A small number of Goldens snuck by on the west side too in the later afternoon, dropping from Mt. Kidd in front of Boggart, and vanishing along a gully behind the southern side of Nakiska.
We also observed 1 resident GOEA, 3 resident Bald Eagles, and a resident Goshawk.
Non-raptor Observations:
Aprroximately 50 American Robins flew up the valley in several small groups, and a Varied Thrush made a single pass across the meadow. In the afternoon, a migrating Killdeer paused on the river before resuming its journey north, towards Hummingbird Plume.
Report submitted by Ethan Denton (ethan@suechick.com)
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
