Mount Lorette (25 Oct 2023) 20 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 25, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 56 | 58 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 105 | 135 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 27 | 31 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 18 | 23 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 12 | 12 |
| Golden Eagle | 14 | 2398 | 2555 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 26 | 44 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 9 | 14 |
| Total: | 20 | 2689 | 2938 |
| Observation start time: | 12:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5 hours |
| Official Counter | Annie Finch |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch |
Visitors:
Three visitors stopped by to chat about the count.
Weather:
The start of the count was delayed until 1:00 pm due to poor conditions. The temperature was -7°C for the first few hours, rising to -6°C for the remainder of the day. Cold ground winds out of the north made for chilly observing conditions at the site. However, we did enjoy the best aging conditions I have experienced so far this fall; the only unaged eagle was one that we were unable to relocate after it flew in front of Patrick immediately after it was spotted. Cloud cover fell from 50% to 0% throughout the afternoon, though the east and west ridges remained mostly shrouded in cloud all day. Ridge winds were low-to-calm. Some wayward flakes fell at the site but not enough to really say it was snowing.
Raptor Observations:
Migrant Eagles Two Golden Eagles were waiting for us in the sky over the west side of the valley as the low clouds finally parted. They spent time soaring and gliding back and forth between the walls of cloud until a path south appeared. After these first two early birds, all other raptors were observed on the east side of the valley. Many flew low in front of Patrick using powered flight.
14 Golden Eagles: 8a, 3sa, 1j, 1ui, 1u 3 Bald Eagles: 3a
Migrant Raptors 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk: 1u 1 Rough-legged Hawk: 1a (dark morph) 1 Unidentified Raptor: small falcon/accipiter flying low over the valley
Non-migrant Raptors An adult Bald Eagle flew north over the river in mid-afternoon.
Non-raptor Observations:
We observed a remarkable number of waterfowl flying south over the valley, unsurprising given Lac des Arcs had frozen over (Barrier Lake remained open, though shrouded in steam fog). A Northern Shrike pursued a Dark-eyed Junco near the site, the latter appeared to prevail. 600 Canada Goose — Flying south over the valley in flocks of 60+ 4 Trumpeter/Tundra Swan 200 duck sp. 1 Northern Shrike 2 Canada Jay 5 Common Raven 1 American Dipper 1 American Robin 1 Dark-eyed Junco
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 (24 Oct 2023) Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 24, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 53 | 55 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 104 | 134 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 27 | 31 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 18 | 23 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 2384 | 2541 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 26 | 44 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Total: | 0 | 2669 | 2918 |
| Observation start time: | 15:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 1.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
None – not even any tracks in the snow of anyone passing by.
Weather:
An attempt, futile as it was, was made today to do an observation. The low clouds and snow from yesterday continued in the morning, but by mid-afternoon the snow had stopped and the clouds lifted a bit. Arriving at the site in the late afternoon, with 10cm fresh snow on the ground and a temperature of -11C, there was blue sky overhead, but clouds were draped over the ridges. Ground winds and ridge winds were low from the northeast. An hour later the clouds were closing in again, and the count was stopped.
Raptor Observations:
No raptors of any kind were seen.
Non-raptor Observations:
A trio of European Starlings appeared to be using the information kiosk as a shelter, and were looking like they’d rather be anywhere else. A skein of 12 Canada Geese were heading south. Only a Hairy Woodpecker seemed happy with the conditions.
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 (23 Oct 2023) 2 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 23, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 53 | 55 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 104 | 134 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 27 | 31 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 18 | 23 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Golden Eagle | 2 | 2384 | 2541 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 26 | 44 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Total: | 2 | 2669 | 2918 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5.75 hours |
| Official Counter | James Bannon |
| Observers: | Theresa Gawron |
Visitors:
About 7 brave hiker souls passed by the site today but none stopped to join us to bask in a glacial facial.
Weather:
We started our morning just after 8am, with periods of light intermittent snow and zero degrees. The cloud line was mid valley with about a 300 meter clearance over our heads. It obscured the peaks in every direction. We stayed until 2 pm, when the snow became heavier with about a 1/2 k of visibility.
Raptor Observations:
We managed to spot two individual adult Golden Eagles at separate times, both moving down the valley from north to south with mostly a slow glide and the occasional flapping. They were easy to spot with the naked eye as they likely were just over the river and below the clouds. As they moved on the falling snow would obscure them from sight.
Non-raptor Observations:
It was reasonably busy with other birds: 9 Ravens – they never seem to mind the weather, 25 Bohemian Waxwings, 15 Pine Grosbeak, 1 Crossbill (sp), 3 Pine Siskin, 1 Gull (sp), 1 Robin, 1 White-crowned Sparrow, 1 White-throated Sparrow, 1 Northern Shrike, 2 American Dipper, 3 Mountain Chickadee, 1 Lapland Longspur, 1 Song Sparrow, 1 Ruffed Grouse. We also watched a Pine Marten, as we wondered if he was going to cross the Kananaskis River. Not a nice day for a swim, although the Dippers loved it and were especially chattery.
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 (22 Oct 2023) 195 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 22, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 7 | 53 | 55 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 104 | 134 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 27 | 31 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 18 | 23 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 6 | 11 | 11 |
| Golden Eagle | 177 | 2382 | 2539 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 26 | 44 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Total: | 195 | 2667 | 2916 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Allison Zukewich |
Visitors:
About five people stopped to chat. Thanks to the three who came to watch migration!
Weather:
In the morning the mountains were draped in low clouds, obscuring all the ridges except for Skogan Pass and Hummingbird Plume Hill. The low cloud remained into the early afternoon, then gradually lifted. Cloud cover was 100% for most of the day, which made ageing difficult given the lack of light. Late in the evening it cleared to 40% creating good conditions for spotting and ageing. Ground wind was from variable directions and light, hardly reaching 10 km/h. Ridge wind was from the SW and light in the morning, but it increased later in the day with gusts reaching 44. The temperature was 2C at the beginning of observation. It reached high of 8, then fell to 6.
Raptor Observations:
The total count for the day was 195 migrants including 177 Golden Eagles (95a, 6j, 13sa, 1ui, 62u), 7 Bald Eagles (5a, 1j, 1sa3), 1 Northern Harrier, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 6 Rough-legged Hawks, and 1 unidentified small accipiter. Migration was slow early in the day, but as clouds started lifting from the mountains, migrants started appearing in the gaps between clouds. Those birds were very difficult to spot and age as they were just briefly seen. When the clouds had mostly cleared movement picked up very quickly culminating in a high count of 64 migrants (including 60 Golden Eagles) between 4 and 5 pm. Many migrants were flying low (below mountain-top height) and often had to resort to flapping. Later in the day some of them found enough wind to make it up higher. One resident American Goshawk was heard calling.
Non-raptor Observations:
93 Canada Geese migrating high, 30 Mallards migrating high, 4 Common Mergansers flying low along the river, 25 gull sp. migrating high, 2 loon sp. migrating high, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 2 Canada Jays, 5 Common Ravens, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 3 Mountain Chickadees, 5 Boreal Chickadees, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 1 American Dipper, 60 Bohemian Waxwings, 3 Evening Grosbeaks, 7 Pine Grosbeaks, 15 Common Redpolls, 1 White-winged Crossbill, 2 Pine Siskins, 8 American Tree Sparrows, 1 White-crowned Sparrow
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 (21 Oct 2023) 217 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 21, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 4 | 46 | 48 |
| Northern Harrier | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 4 | 102 | 132 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 27 | 31 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 17 | 22 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Golden Eagle | 205 | 2205 | 2362 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 25 | 43 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Total: | 217 | 2472 | 2721 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Jessica Banas, Neil Denton |
| Observers: | Caroline Lambert, Dan Parliament, Jessica Banas |
Visitors:
There were 30 visitors throughout the day who stopped by to chat. Thank you to Yumi who spent most of the afternoon with us, spotting many eagles!
Weather:
The weather in the morning was cloudy with some haze, with decent ridge winds, 19-27 km/h from the SW, for some morning bird movement. The haze disappeared by noon and the winds died down for a while as well, 9-21 km/h SW. By early afternoon the cloud cover remained but the ridge winds picked up again, 22-37 km/h primarily from the SW. The temperature started at -2C and reached a high of 11C.
Raptor Observations:
The days total was 217 migrants, including 205 Golden Eagles (92a, 65sa, 13j, 35u), 4 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4u), 4 Bald Eagles (2a, 1su3, 1su1/2), 2 Northern Harrier (1brown, 1u), 1 Red-tailed Hawk (1ad/i), 1 Rough-legged Hawk (1jlm). The eagles starting moving early, the flight lulled through mid-day, and picked up again in the early afternoon. Rain started on the west ridges around 4pm and eventually overtook Mt.Lorette around 6pm. Many of the earlier birds struggled and moved low, often in front of Patrick, but by the afternoon they were often very high along the east ridges. No local raptors were seen during the day.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included: Canada Jay 4, Common Raven 6, Black-capped Chickadee 3, Brown Creeper 2, American Dipper 1, Bohemian Waxwing 3, Pine Grosbeak 3, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 5, Common Redpoll 2, Red Crossbill 6, Pine Siskin 1, Lapland Longspur 1, Canada Goose 16, Trumpeter Swan 24, Common Loon 1
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]
