Mount Lorette (25 Oct 2026) 6 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 25, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 40 | 50 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 55 | 83 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 10 | 22 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 3 | 16 | 19 |
| Golden Eagle | 2 | 1677 | 1943 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 14 | 18 |
| Total: | 6 | 1854 | 2220 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Ethan Denton |
| Observers: | Christa Clifford |
Visitors:
31 people came by, with 19 stopping to chat. Many thanks to those who stayed for a while despite the low movement!
Weather:
It was a chilly day with low clouds obscuring the sun throughout and north winds at ground level ranging up to a Beaufort 3. Ridge winds were exceptionally low and from the South. Pressure dropped by 4 points over the course of the day, and temps stayed between -5�C and -1�C.
Raptor Observations:
Despite the low clouds, three eagles snuck through. One stayed deep in the mist and was consequently unidentifiable, but the other two were low, slow, and clearly adult Goldens.
Three Rough-legged Hawks were observed, all at Patrick between peak level and the treeline.
The local Goshawk made two appearances, but other than that, no local raptors were seen.
Non-raptor Observations:
It was a good day for non-raptors, despite a slow start. Four Common Loons whistled high over the Eastern ridge, a flock of Canada Geese came over the valley, and a single Snow Bunting flew through the meadow. Sticking around was a flock of Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows, with one White-crowned Sparrow mixed in. A Varied Thrush briefly foraged on the riverbank, near where our female Common Merganser spent some time diving around.
The big surprise was an unidentified Flycatcher – a bird of the empidonax genus which represents the latest ever empid record in Alberta. Unfortunately it made its way south before a positive ID could be made.
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 Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (23 Oct 2026) 39 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 23, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 37 | 47 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 55 | 83 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 10 | 22 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 13 | 16 |
| Golden Eagle | 35 | 1673 | 1939 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 14 | 18 |
| Total: | 39 | 1843 | 2209 |
| Observation start time: | 10:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Ethan Denton |
| Observers: | Christina Furtado |
Visitors:
Only one person braved the weather today.
Weather:
Heavy clouds and snow blocked observation until 11:00 or so, and low clouds hung around for most of the day even after the system passed. The temperature began at 0, rose to 1, and returned to 0.
Ridgewinds tended to be low, as – for the most part – did ground winds. Both came from the North. The pressure rose by a couple points in the afternoon.
Raptor Observations:
For the first several hours of the day, you would have been lucky to see an eagle if it had flown directly in and landed on the bench.
By 11, however, the snow stopped and the blanket of clouds that had swamped the ridgelines began to shift. A young American Goshawk tested the waters and was quickly followed by a burst of 10 Golden Eagles. This made for our biggest single-hour total of the day.
In total, 35 Goldens (17ad, 4sub, 2juv, 3ui, 9u) came by today. All but one flew low across the Eastern ridge. Most appeared over the bumps or even over South Fisher, until the clouds cleared at Lorette and the peak peeked out, at which point our last couple Eagles were observed drifting across from there.
Non-eagles were low, includeding the aforementioned Goshawk, a subadult Bald Eagle, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and a male Northern Harrier ghosting across the grey skies.
Non-raptor Observations:
The American Tree Sparrows along the creek were joined by one each of Song and Swamp Sparrows. The male Belted Kingfisher hunted along the river, a pair of Pine Grosbeaks frequented the meadows edges, and a small flock of Bohemian Waxwings showed up in the midafternoon.
It was a good day for waterfowl over the Eastern ridge, with 4 distinct groups of Canada Geese and a small flock of unidentified ducks whistling high overhead.
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 Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (22 Oct 2026) 46 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 22, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 36 | 46 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 54 | 82 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 9 | 21 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 13 | 16 |
| Golden Eagle | 40 | 1638 | 1904 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 14 | 18 |
| Total: | 46 | 1804 | 2170 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.2 hours |
| Official Counter | Lynette MacCulloch |
| Observers: | Allison Zukewich |
Visitors:
Only 7 visitors stopped by, but several helped to look for eagles. Thanks to Louise and Ron for joining us for several hours and Alex and her dog Cleo who also helped spot eagles. Special thanks to Niza for coming out to spend the afternoon with us.
Weather:
This may be our last summery day for the fall, although it started out chilly at 1 degree, got up to 12 degrees and back down to 9 degrees by sunset.There was very light cloud in the morning along the eastern sky so it was almost noon before the sun actually gave some heat and then things really started to warm up. The ground winds were light to calm all day with a few gusts in the afternoon.Ridge winds were also fairly light, west and south-south-west in direction with speeds of 25-37km/hr and gusts up to 50 km/hr.High winds were very low until later in the afternoon and even then only moderate from the west and southwest. The sky was quite clear with early cirrus in the east and only a few cumulus clouds. Towards 5 pm, heavier cumulus clouds were back in the north-eastern sky, the ridges were always clear.
Raptor Observations:
There was very little benefit of clouds for spotting the eagles and with low winds the eagles all seemed to go slow and semi low until the winds picked up. Almost all the eagles were on the east ridges, showing up over Patrick or the Bumps, but 2 were seen going right down the middle of the sky well above us, travelling fast. In all we saw 40 Golden eagles, (8a, 14sa, 5 ui, 11ua, 2 ju) 3 Bald Eagles (2a, 1ju), 1 unknown Eagle, 1 adult Goshawk, and 1 unknown Raptor
Non-raptor Observations:
The day was pretty quiet for other species, squirrels were the most vocal of all. The Dipper was heard in the river , a Hairy Woodpecker flew over twice, 1 Canada Jay came to visit several times, 1 European Starling was seen sitting in a tree, Black-capped Chickadees sang close by in the bushes, An adult Goshawk, an adult Rough-legged Hawk and a Resident Bald eagle were seen hunting or flying north in the valley. And how could I forget the many Ravens which spent quite a bit of time up on the bumps tormenting the young eagles as they struggled to gain altitude.
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 Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (21 Oct 2026) 189 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 21, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bald Eagle | 6 | 33 | 43 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 54 | 82 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 2 | 8 | 20 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 13 | 16 |
| Golden Eagle | 176 | 1598 | 1864 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Buteo | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 13 | 17 |
| Total: | 189 | 1758 | 2124 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Graeme Dunlop |
| Observers: | Linda Hickey |
Visitors:
Approximately 60 people walked past the site today, with around 20 stopping to chat. Thanks to the 2 visitors from Germany and Jim B and his daughter Vanessa for helping spot eagles.
Weather:
Another warm and sunny fall day. The temperature at 0800 was -3C, the high was 14C at 1500 and it was still 9C at 1845. Ridge winds were SW-WSW 40 to 60km/h with gusts from 65 to 90 km/h. The skies began clear before some thin, high cirrostratus and altostratus appeared covering between 20% to 50% giving an excellent observing backdrop throughout the day.
Raptor Observations:
The first Golden Eagle was seen at 0825 and subsequent movement was fairly steady for the rest of the day with 14 to 35 birds per hour (peak hour was 1500 to 1600) until 1800 when movement slowed, with the last Golden Eagle observed gliding high to the south at 1810. Only 2 Golden Eagles were seen over the western ridges, the rest were mostly using the route from Mt Lorette to the Fisher Range, usually above ridge level and often very high. During the peak hour from 1500, one loose group of 6 eagles flew straight down the valley passing high overhead. The lighting conditions made ageing the eagles quite difficult until the sun angle became more favourable by late afternoon. A total of 189 raptors of 5 species were seen, comprising 6 Bald Eagles (5a, 1sa), 1 un-aged Rough-legged Hawk, 1 un-aged Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 American Goshawks (1a, 1juv), 176 Golden Eagles (46a, 2sa, 6j, 16ui, 106u), 2 unidentified buteos and 1 unidentified raptor.
Non-raptor Observations:
Not much activity in the meadow today. A few flocks of Bohemian Waxwings flew past totalling about 60 birds. Other birds were 2 Canada Jays, 1 Magpie, about 15 Ravens and 4 Siskins.
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 Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (20 Oct 2026) 142 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 20, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 27 | 37 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 53 | 81 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 6 | 18 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 12 | 15 |
| Golden Eagle | 140 | 1422 | 1688 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 12 | 16 |
| Total: | 142 | 1569 | 1935 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.98 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Peter Lloyd |
Visitors:
Very few people stopped to ask about the count, but we enjoyed a visit from Peter and Jennifer who stayed a while to watch eagles, and Ed McCullough who helped spot for an hour in the afternoon.
Weather:
Today’s lack of clouds – not even a single contrail! – did not present the observation difficulties that blue sky often brings, as a lack of wind kept the raptors low and easier to see. The warmth of the sun all day was welcome after a starting temperature of -6C. It quickly rose to 10C, and started dropping just as quickly after the sun went behind the west ridge, ending the day at 4C. Ground winds were mostly calm, not getting much above 10 kph from the southwest. Ridge winds were low from the south to start, but veered around to southwest and increased to the 30-40 kph range for the afternoon.
Raptor Observations:
The first Golden Eagle was seen at 0952, and the last at 1830, a few minutes before sunset. In the morning progress for the eagles was slow as what little wind there was was coming from the south. For the most part they were flying in front of the ridges, and seen only briefly when they popped up above the ridge. After noon they were mostly flying a standard route from Lorette, coming into the east ridge at ridge level, then gaining a bit of altitude before gliding on, mostly clearing the ridge after that. Most of the movement was on the east ridge, but a few were seen on the west side. The total was 140 (77a, 7sa, 5j, 17ui, 34u).
In addition, two Bald Eagles were seen heading south (1a, 1j).
One adult Bald Eagle flew low up the river, and an adult American Goshawk was seen hunting over the west side of the valley.
Non-raptor Observations:
Two Common Mergansers swam up the river and then drifted down again. The female Belted Kingfisher chased off another kingfisher at one point. A Hairy Woodpecker flew past. A Northern Shrike sat in a tree staring at a European Starling below it – looking like it was sizing up the starling as a possible prey item. The starling flew off before the shrike did anything. Two Canada Jays came to visit. 13 ravens were seen at once above the east ridge; another seven or so were seen around the valley. A couple of Red Crossbills flew over, and Pine Siskins were heard several times.
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 Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
