Mount Lorette (09 Oct 2023) 182 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 09, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 20 | 22 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 6 | 77 | 107 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 20 | 24 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 14 | 19 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Golden Eagle | 170 | 980 | 1137 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 1 | 8 | 12 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 19 | 37 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| Total: | 182 | 1167 | 1416 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.83 hours |
| Official Counter | Jessica Banas |
| Observers: | Allison Zukewich, Caroline Lambert |
Visitors:
There were about 40 visitors throughout the day stopping by to chat about the watch, 8 who had scopes or binoculars. Many thanks to James & Theresa for helping with spotting for most of the day, and to Matt and Caroline for their support in the afternoon.
Weather:
The temperature was 4C upon arrival to the site, reached a high of 19C in the afternoon, and dropped to 12C at the end of the day. Wind was light at ground level, primarily from the SW. Ridge winds were also from the SW with sustained wind usually over 25 and gusts over 50. The sky was mostly clear with a smattering of cirrus clouds throughout the day.
Raptor Observations:
The count consisted of 182 migrants including 170 Golden Eagles (68a, 15juv, 42sa, 1ui, 44u), 6 Sharp-shinned hawks, (1j, 5u), 1 Goshawk (1a), 2 Red-Tailed Hawk (2a), 2 Rough-legged Hawk (2jdm), 1 Merlin (1t f/i). Most of the migrants stuck to the eastern ridge, often gliding high and quickly through the sky. Towards the end of the day, the eagles lost some of the height but continued to move along the ridge even after sunset. Movement was steady throughout the day with very few breaks. The high cirrus clouds helped provide a good backdrop for spotting migrants at height and distance. The daylight also supported easy aging of the birds, until the last hour of the day when it became much more challenging with sunset. There was a single adult bald eagle that was seen multiple times through the day in various spots along the ridge or in the valley. At the very end of the day, we were treated to lovely views of a Northern Pygmy Owl before it moved on through the valley.
Non-raptor Observations:
It was pretty quiet for other species: Mallard 1, Common Merganser 3, Canada Jay 2, Clark’s Nutcracker 1, Common Raven 12, Golden-crowned Kinglet 1, American Robin 6, Bohemian Waxwing 30, American Pipit 1 Mountain Chickadee 1, Black-Capped Chickadee 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]
Mount Lorette (08 Oct 2023) 176 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 08, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 20 | 22 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 5 | 71 | 101 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 19 | 23 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 12 | 17 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 162 | 810 | 967 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 7 | 11 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 3 | 19 | 37 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| Total: | 176 | 985 | 1234 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.42 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch |
Visitors:
60 visitors stopped to talk about the count. 10 people brought binoculars. Thanks to all stayed for a while to help spot raptors!
Weather:
The temperature was 3C upon arrival to the site, it cooled to 2 and hour later, rose to 19 in the afternoon, then fell to 16 at the end of observation. Wind was light at ground level from the W-SW most of the day, except in the afternoon when there were some gusts over 20 km/h. Ridge wind was also from the SW with sustained wind usually over 30 and gusts over 40. The sky was cloudless until the last few hours, when a few scarce cumulus and cirrus clouds formed to the west.
Raptor Observations:
The count consisted of 176 migrants including 162 Golden Eagles (80a, 20j, 9sa, 6ui, 47u), 3 Bald Eagles (2a, 1 sa), 5 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 3 unidentified small accipiters, 1 unidentified eagle and 1 unidentified raptor. Most of the migrants used the eastern ridges with varying heights and flight methods. Some were soaring relatively low at or below mountain top height all the way, others gained much height kiting and soaring, but most lost it gliding between peaks. Eagles started moving early with 20 counted in the first hour of observation. Movement remained steady throughout of the day, with the exception of a couple hours in the afternoon when they seemed to take a lunch break. The nearly cloudless sky made spotting difficult all day. On the other hand, the bright light made for good ID and ageing conditions, except for the first few hours when migrants were silhouetted by the rising sun. A resident Goshawk was heard calling in the morning, and later one was seen fighting with ravens over Hummingbird Plume Hill, which may or may not have been the same bird.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds were scarce. They included: Ruffed Grouse 1, Belted Kingfisher 1, Canada Jay 3, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 15, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Boreal Chickadee 4, Brown Creeper 1, American Dipper 1, Bohemian Waxwing 35, Pine Grosbeak 1, Pine Siskin 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]
Mount Lorette (07 Oct 2023) 166 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 07, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 17 | 19 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 5 | 66 | 96 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| American Goshawk | 2 | 19 | 23 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 12 | 17 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 158 | 648 | 805 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 7 | 11 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 16 | 34 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| Total: | 166 | 809 | 1058 |
| Observation start time: | 07:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Neil Denton |
| Observers: | Jessica Banas |
Visitors:
Approx 20 visitors spent time with us, including several who spent time with binoculars assisting the spotting efforts.
In particular, Kent and Doug – who spent the previous day at the count site too – were persistent and effective eagle spotters.
Weather:
Ridgetop Temperatures at the start of the day @ 7:45am was 1C, ending the day at 11C and the high temperature was 13C
Ground Level Temperatures started at a chilly -1C, ending at 7pm with 15C. The daily high was 18C
Summary of ridge wind Primarily S or SSW variable between 6km/h and 30km/h gusting to 50km/h
Summary of ground wind Primarily S or SSW variable between 5km/h and 27km/h with fairly extended periods of no wind or very light airs, particularly in the morning.
Cloud cover and precipitation Other than a very interesting pattern of high narrow cloud âbeamsâ that gave the impression of a sunburst, we had periods later in the day when a light, high haze impacted raptor identification. But most of the day was cloudless.
Raptor Observations:
The total count of Golden Eagles was 158 Golden Eagles (56AD, 32SA, 30JUV, 0UI, 39U).
Five Golden Eagles seen by 11am, with a further 20 by 1pm. Subsequently, hourly totals averaged 25 per hour. We had several groups of up to 6 or more eagles in sight concurrently.
During the afternoon, the eagles tended to follow the Mt Lorette-Mt Patrick route with quite a few being high over Patrick, and passing rapidly on the upper winds.
No Bald Eagles were observed.
Other migrating raptors were in small numbers, with Sharp-shinned Hawk at 5 individuals, 2 American Goshawk and 1 Red-tailed Hawk.
Non-raptor Observations:
Three Ruffed Grouse were seen at the start of the day, and occasionally by other people walking the trail to the site.
1 resident Golden Eagle was seen several times, with a non-migrant Goshawk (American or Northern according to your speed of adapting to name changes).
Other birds seen included three species of Chickadees, Belted Kingfisher, 2 distracting Canada Jays that posed on the Leica scope (and added some whitewash to it), 15 Common Raven, 1 American Dipper, 85 Bohemian Waxwing, 1 White-crowned Sparrow and 1 Swamp Sparrow calling for more time that I ought to have taken to identify its call note.
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 (06 Oct 2023) 230 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 06, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 5 | 17 | 19 |
| Northern Harrier | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 14 | 61 | 91 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| American Goshawk | 7 | 17 | 21 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 11 | 16 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 188 | 490 | 647 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 1 | 7 | 11 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 7 | 16 | 34 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Total: | 230 | 643 | 892 |
| Observation start time: | 06:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Graeme Dunlop |
| Observers: | Rick Robb |
Visitors:
18. Up to 9 people stayed for a while to enjoy the weather and scenery. Thanks to Theresa, James and Doug for helping to spot birds.
Weather:
The temperature was -4C at sunrise, the high was 16C at 1600 and it was 11C at 1915. Winds were SW-WSW all day mostly calm to light at ground level, ridge winds were SW light becoming SW moderate with strong gusts after 1600. Cloud cover was clear to 20% cirrus. Observing conditions were excellent all day.
Raptor Observations:
The total movement observed between 0745 and 1915 was 230 migrants of 9 species that comprised 5 Bald Eagles (4a, 1sa), 2 brown Northern Harriers, 14 Sharp-shinned Hawks (7a, 17u), 2 adult Cooperâs Hawks, 2a Red-tailed Hawks (2 light calurus and 1 dark harlani), 1 light-coloured Rough-legged Hawk (hunting slowly along the east ridge for almost an hour from 0800), 188 Golden Eagles (118a, 4sa, 34j, 32u), 1 Merlin, 7 unidentified accipiters and 1 unidentified raptor. Despite the seemingly favorable conditions movement was quite slow until 1400, 87 Golden Eagles were seen between 1400 and 1700 and 59 between 1800 and 1900. All but 4 Golden Eagles used the eastern ridges. In the afternoon and evening most eagles were first located high-soaring over either Skogan Peak or Mt Lorette before gliding across the valley to the Fisher Range at varying altitudes. On my way home I stopped briefly at the Mt Allan viewpoint on Hwy 40 and saw 3 Golden Eagles still flying after sunset (19:15).
Non-raptor Observations:
Common Loon 2, White-headed gulls sp. 15, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Canada Jay 2, Black-billed Magpie 3, Common Raven 20, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Mountain Chickadee 1, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, American Dipper 1, American Robin 11, Bohemian Waxwing 10, Pine Siskin 3, White-crowned Sparrow 2.
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 (05 Oct 2023) 142 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 05, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 6 | 12 | 14 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 29 | 47 | 77 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| American Goshawk | 7 | 10 | 14 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 4 | 9 | 14 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Golden Eagle | 86 | 302 | 459 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 3 | 9 | 27 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Total: | 142 | 413 | 662 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:45:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.58 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Jessica Banas |
Visitors:
Very few people came by the site today, and of those, four were just brief chats and only one stayed for any length of time.
Weather:
The temperature started out at 1C, rose to 9C, and ended at 8C. Clouds started out at 100% coverage with cumulostratus clouds, which gradually broke up into individual cumulus clouds, which in turn gradually gave way to blue sky in the afternoon. Ground winds were strong from the northeast most of the day, with just a couple of hours in the afternoon when they were from the northwest. The wind abated in the late afternoon. Ridge winds were light from the northeast to east in the morning, then became variable from the southwest, before swinging back around to the northeast by the end of the day.
Raptor Observations:
Given the northeast winds at ridge level, not much was expected today. However, birds were flying, although only a few found the secret route that had them gliding high over the east ridge. Most were labouring along the ridge with powered flight, often dropping below tree level before finding a thermal. Many of them came into the east ridge in the middle of the Bumps, low and at a sharp angle. Perhaps the most surprising thing of the day was the number of accipiters, mostly Sharp-shinned Hawks, that seemed to be everywhere. Many of these were flying along the east ridge with the eagles. One particularly annoying one was hunting to the south of the site and kept showing up in our binoculars. Our count of 29 Sharp-shinned Hawks (not including the annoying one), while a high number, pales in comparison with the count on Oct 1, 2015, when the observers that day tallied 98!
The final numbers were 86 Golden Eagles (37a, 8sa, 12j, 2ui, 27u), 6 Bald Eagles (2a, 1ui, 2wb, 1j), 7 Northern Goshawks (4a, 1j, 2u), 29 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4a, 3j, 22u), 3 unknown accipiters, 4 Red-tailed Hawks (1a, 1j, 2u), 2 Merlins, 3 unidentified eagles, and 2 unknown raptors.
Non-raptor Observations:
With so many Sharp-shinned Hawks in the air, it was no surprise that we didn’t see any Bohemian Waxwings today! Other birds were: Canada Goose 2, Ruffed Grouse 4, Downy Woodpecker 1, Black-billed Magpie 1, American Crow 13, Common Raven 5, Black-capped Chickadee 4, Mountain Chickadee 2, American Dipper 1, Lapland Longspur 2, White-crowned Sparrow 1
Predictions:
Moderate southwest winds forecast for the next few days should make for excellent migration conditions for this peak eagle migration period!
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]
