Mount Lorette (22 Sep 2024) 20 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 22, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 19 | 56 | 56 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 20 | 71 | 71 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.63 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Allison Zukewich |
Visitors:
57, including five with binoculars eager to spot some Golden Eagles.
Weather:
It was a strangely warm day for being overcast most of the time. The temperature started out 11C and stayed in a narrow range, reaching a high of 14C and staying at that level. Ground winds were blustery; occasionally calm, then raising some concern about toppling some gear, then going back to calm. High level winds were moderate to strong, starting from the northwest and swinging to the west. Ridge winds were hard to assess – the first group of eagles were gliding both high and low on the east ridge, but later in the day were quite low. Cloud cover started out at 100% stratus, which gradually broke up to become cumulus clouds, but the coverage never was less than 75%, and by evening was back to a gloomy 100%.
Raptor Observations:
The first two migrants seen were on the west ridge, but after that all activity happened on the east ridge. After a burst of movement around noon, activity was sporadic for the rest of the day. The totals were 19 Golden Eagles (5a, 4sa, 1j, 2ui, 7u), and one Merlin.
Two non-migrant Golden Eagles were seen flying northwest across the valley, and an American Goshawk was hunting over Hummingbird Plume.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other species were mostly quiet on this dark and gloomy day. A couple of flocks of robins, about 35 in total, were seen heading south. The dipper put in brief appearance on the river. A Ruffed Grouse was hanging out on the path near the site. Other birds were 7 Common Ravens, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 10 Pine Siskins, and a Savannah Sparrow.
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Mount Lorette (21 Sep 2024) 51 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 21, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Northern Harrier | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 37 | 37 | 37 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 51 | 51 | 51 |
| Observation start time: | 07:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Lynn Macintosh |
Visitors:
55 visitors stopped to talk. 6 stopped to look for migrants. Thanks to everyone who did, feel free to stop by again!
Weather:
A frosty morning turned into a beautiful fall day. The temperature was -2C at the start of observation, it rose to a high of 12 in the afternoon, then fell to 11 by the end of the day. Ground wind was light in the morning, then blustery in the afternoon with gusts around 20 km/h. At ridge level, wind was moderate in the morning and strong in the afternoon. Cloud cover varied between 20% and 60%.
Raptor Observations:
It was a great day for migration, with a good variety of raptors and about three times the average Golden Eagle count for this date. The first migrant, a Golden Eagle, was spotted almost immediately on arrival to the site just before 9 AM. More migrants passed in the first half of the day than in the latter half, a reverse of the usual pattern. Ageing was difficult in the morning as migrants were often silhouetted in front of the rising sun, but observing conditions were good otherwise. The count for the day was 51 raptors including 37 Golden Eagles (12 adults, 4 sub-adults, 3 juveniles, 6 undifferentiated immature, 12 unaged), 3 Bald Eagles, 2 Northern Harriers, 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 3 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 American Kestrel, 1 Merlin, and 1 small unidentified raptor. A local adult Goshawk was seen hunting over Hummingbird Plume Hill, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk that was moving to the north high up was counted as a resident raptor as it didn’t seem to be actively migrating. It was also nice to see a juvenile Northern Harrier close by while it spent a few minutes hunting in the meadow before moving on.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included: 1 Ruffed Grouse, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 2 Northern Flickers, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 8 Common Ravens, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 1 Mountain Chickadee, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 3 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1 American Dipper, 1 Mountain Bluebird, 1 Varied Thrush, 15 American Robins, 2 American Pipits, 2 Pine Siskins, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 Savannah Sparrow, 25 Yellow-rumped Warblers, & 2 Wilson’s Warblers
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Mount Lorette (20 Sep 2024) Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 20, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 11:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 1.35 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
2 intrepid souls were out in the rain.
Weather:
It was a short day at the site. The start was delayed due to low clouds and rain, which gave way to heavy, broken clouds which still mostly obscured the ridges. There was some hope that the clouds would clear up, and although each peak could be seen at various times in the morning, the clouds closed in, and rain and hail caused the count to be terminated by noon, as the wind picked up and the temperature dropped suddenly from 7C to 3C. I stuck around the area for a while, but, although there were clear skies occasionally above the valley and the wind died down, it rained off and on, and the clouds never lifted off the ridges all afternoon.
Raptor Observations:
No migrant raptors were seen. The only raptor was an Osprey that flew north along the bottom of the ski slopes.
Non-raptor Observations:
Very few of the trees at the site had any yellow on them – most unusual. It barely looked like fall at all. There were a few other birds around – a Belted Kingfisher, one Northern Flicker, three Canada Jays, one Common Raven, two Black-capped Chickadees, one Mountain Chickadee, two Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and eight Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Predictions:
Should be a perfect day with southwest winds, a few clouds, and fresh snow on the ridges.
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
