Mount Lorette (18 Mar 2024) 76 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 18, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 31 | 31 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 72 | 1032 | 1032 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 76 | 1070 | 1070 |
| Observation start time: | 06:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:45:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Jessica Banas |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch |
Visitors:
It was fairly quiet during the day with only 3-4 people stopping by to chat. There were 3 visitors who helped spot during the afternoon.
Weather:
The morning was chilly at -2C but warmed throughout the day to 12C. The morning was quite still on the ground with almost no breeze, but as the day went on the breeze steadily picked up. It was almost impossible to tell what winds were doing on the ridges with no clouds in the sky at all, for the entire day.
Raptor Observations:
Although weather conditions seemed similar to the day prior, the raptor movement could not have been more different. The birds moved almost exclusively on the western ridges, with only two eagles taking the eastern side. In total, Golden Eagles included 58a, 13sa, 1j. One Merlin(u) was seen streaking across the west side of the valley around noon. One adult Goshawk flew high across the east side of the valley in the early afternoon. A bit later, two adult Bald Eagles were seen traveling high above the east ridges. One local adult bald eagle was seen during the day.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included: 4 Trumpeter Swans, 4 Canada Geese, 2 Common Merganser, 2 Ruffed Grouse, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 2 Canada Jay, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 7 Common Raven, 5 Black-capped Chickadee, 1 Mountain Chickadee, 1 Boreal Chickadee, 1 European Starling, 1 American Robin, 3 Bohemian Waxwing.
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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 (17 Mar 2024) 54 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 17, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 5 | 29 | 29 |
| 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 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 46 | 960 | 960 |
| 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 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 54 | 994 | 994 |
| Observation start time: | 06:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:45:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11 hours |
| Official Counter | Jessica Banas |
| Observers: | Allison Zukewich |
Visitors:
There were a number of visitors who stopped by to chat during the day, approximately 25 throughout the day, and a couple of people stopped by to help spot.
Weather:
The morning was chilly at -2C, but once the sun arrived it warmed up quickly, with a high of 12C – some visitors were warm enough to wear shorts! There was a gentle morning breeze on the ground from the SW that shifted to a light, warm breeze from the WSW for the afternoon. The ridge winds seemed to vary a bit throughout the day, and it was a challenge to estimate, but at the strongest I believe approximately 40-80km WSW. There were some very light clouds throughout the day.
Raptor Observations:
Most eagles moved primarily along the eastern ridges, with an exception of two adults that chose the west. The birds were moving very high in the sky, often skipping Patrick altogether by moving across the valley to Lorette. In all, Golden Eagles included 1j, 6sa, 29s, 20u. There were also 2jlm Rough-Legged Hawks, 2a and 3sa Bald Eagles migrating. A local Goshawk was heard calling in the morning. The star of the show, however, was a juvenile dark-morph Ferruginous Hawk seen in the afternoon, flying a strange path much lower than other migrants. At the end of the day, one Golden Eagle flew low through the valley and landed on Mount Lorette – this bird was not included in the days’ migration count.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included: 1 American Three-toed Woodpecker, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 1 Norther Flicker, 1 Canada Jay, 1 Black-Billed Magpie, 6 Common Raven 6 Black-Capped Chickadee, 2 Mountain Chickadee, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1 American Robin, 10 Bohemian Waxwing, 2 Evening Grosbeak.
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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 (16 Mar 2024) 156 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 16, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 24 | 24 |
| 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 | 154 | 914 | 914 |
| 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 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 156 | 940 | 940 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.57 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Lynn Macintosh |
Visitors:
At least 60 visitors stopped to talk. Thanks to Will & Sarah and to my dad Tim for staying to help spot migrants!
Weather:
The temperate was -2 C at the beginning of observation, it rose to +13 in the afternoon, then fell to +10 as we were leaving. Cloud cover was mostly high cirrus covering 25-50% of the sky which created excellent spotting and ageing/ID conditions for most of the day. Ground wind was mostly below 10 km/h with some gusts between 10 and 20. Around 2 PM the direction switched from SW to NW. The Nakiska Ridgetop weather station is not reading wind at the moment, and ridge wind was a bit tough to judge, but was probably light to moderate (below 40 km/h) since most of the migrants were soaring and those that were gliding were low and had to do some flapping. The direction probably shifted around the same time it did at ground level as may of the high-soaring birds later in the day seemed to get pushed back south a bit as they were gaining height.
Raptor Observations:
The count for the day included 154 Golden Eagles (116 adults, 1 subadult, 37 unaged) and 2 adult Bald Eagles. Route, flight style and observing conditions all varied greatly throughout the day. Before 2 PM most of the migrants were soaring slowly and not too high which made spotting and ageing easy. After 2 PM the migrants were getting higher and higher and started to become backlit which made observing conditions much more difficult. Most of the movement was on the Kananaskis Range to the west where they were often soaring very high, though some used the Fisher Range to the east, especially later in the day. Those birds on the eastern ridges were usually gliding and flapping low, below mountain-top height. The peak was between 11:45 and 12:15 when about 40 migrants were counted. A pair of local adult Bald Eagles perched near the site in the morning. Later a sub-adult 3 Bald Eagle was in the area but it seemed to be escorted away by one of the local adults. At least one of the resident Goshawk pair was seen several times over Hummingbird Plume Hill and the west side of the valley.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included 1 Canada Goose, 1 American Three-toed Woodpecker, 3 Hairy Woodpeckers, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 3 Canada Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 7 Common Ravens, 3 Black-capped Chickadees, 1 Boreal Chickadee, 1 Brown Creeper, 1 American Dipper, 2 European Starlings, 2 American Robins, 10 Bohemian Waxwings, and 2 Common Redpolls. At least 3 white-tailed deer were around, and 1 bighorn sheep was spotted on a distant cliff.
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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 (15 Mar 2024) 406 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 15, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 5 | 22 | 22 |
| 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 | 401 | 760 | 760 |
| 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 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 406 | 784 | 784 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.32 hours |
| Official Counter | Annie Finch |
| Observers: | Ruth Morrow |
Visitors:
A dozen or so visitors stopped by to chat today. We were incredibly grateful for the assistance of Mark and Suzanne for their help spotting eagles!
Weather:
The morning started out with clear skies and a temperature of -2°C. The temperature peaked at 10°C at 4:00 pm, and fell to 6°C by sundown. It got quite warm in the middle of the day, and Iâm certain we all got sunburns. High cirrus and scattered cumulus clouds combined and recombined all day, proving and ever changing backdrop for spotting eagles. Light conditions were excellent for all day, except for the 46 eagles who were backlit over the western ridges after 3:00 pm. Most other unaged eagles were due to volume, not conditions. Ground winds started light from the south and SE in the morning, and from the SW in the afternoon. Ridge and high level winds were difficult to determine due to lack of spindrift off the peaks and being too busy to check the direction and speed of the passing clouds.
Raptor Observations:
What a day! Eagles streamed over both sides of the valley for hours, often in kettles or gliding strings of 8or more birds. Luckily we were a robust team today; my deepest thanks to Michael, Sheila, and Jim for spotting hundreds of eagles while I was busy looking the other way. Ruth was a dream to work with, as always, and made hectic air traffic control look easy.
My sources tell me that today was the third highest count since 2007 at the Mt. Lorette site. The highest was 507 on 20 March 2015, and the second highest was 437 on 24 March 2011. We were thrilled to get our last little group of three Golden Eagles over Mt. Patrick at 7:42 pm today, just a few minutes before official sunset, to push us over into the 400s!
A particularly popular thermal formed on the backside of the south flank of Olympic Summit, announcing itself with a surprise kettle of 16 adult Golden Eagles just after noon; it easily produced over 100 Golden Eagles throughout the day. About 250 eagles used the eastern ridges, including all but one Bald Eagle. All 95 of the eagles spotted after 4:30 pm used the eastern ridges or appeared high over the east side of the valley. Kettles behind Olympic Summit and strings of half a dozen or more high-gliding eagles over the Bumps contributed the bulk of todayâs birds. It was steady and fun and everyone was nice.
Migrant Eagles 401 Golden Eagles: 274a, 1sa, j, 1ui, 125u 5 Bald Eagles: 3a, 2sa, j, u
No other migrant raptors were observed.
Non-migrant Raptors Two adult American Goshawks appeared mid afternoon, swooping and gliding together over the east side of the valley.
Non-raptor Observations:
An orderly line of 10 Canada Goose flew high over the site in the morning. A dozen Bohemian Waxwings flitted around the site for most of the day, alternately perching high atop trees, flycatching, and making forays to the ground. Two Black-capped Chickadees sang from the forest edge. A handful of Common Ravens were around the valley today, keeping us honest. A Belted Kingfisher flew past along the river, as did a Hairy Woodpecker. We were listed late in the day by a disheveled-looking Canada jay, and late in the evening we were serenaded by an American Robin from across the river.
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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 (14 Mar 2024) 178 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 14, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 17 | 17 |
| 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 | 174 | 359 | 359 |
| 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 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 178 | 378 | 378 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.92 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Sandy Graham |
Visitors:
Only three people stopped to chat. Thanks to Ed McCullough for helping out through two of the peak hours. He turned up just before the main flight of eagles started, as if he had brought them with him.
Weather:
The temperature started at -5C, rose to a balmy 7C, and was 1C at the end. High cirrostratus clouds gave way to blue skies after a few hours, but by mid-afternoon the sky was clouding over again, first with cirrostratus clouds and then altostratus, with just a little bit of blue. There did not appear to be much ridge wind in the morning, judging by the lack of raptors and ravens that needed to flap to stay aloft, but by mid-afternoon the ridge winds must have picked up as the afternoon rush of raptors was flying high and fast.
Raptor Observations:
It was a slow morning with nothing moving. By 3:30pm we had seen just one Golden Eagle, just a brief glimpse low down on the west ridge, and we had little hope for seeing much more. Another one low on the west ridge gave more hope, and that was followed by four low down and circling around Mt Lorette. We thought we were in for an afternoon of watching for brief views of low flying eagles, but we were very mistaken in that! By 4pm we started seeing them flying high and fast above the east ridge; the flood gates had opened! We had 50 that hour, followed by 33 the next hour, then 61, and in the last hour, 19, with the last eagle a few minutes before sunset. A few on the west ridge kept us out of our seats so we could monitor both ridges, but most were gliding high and fast over the east ridge. At one point I had 11 soaring together in my binocular view, and six in scope view. All of the Golden Eagles that could be aged were adults, as expected for this time of year, with a total of 174 (152a, 22u). The three Bald Eagles (2a, 1j) seemed very out of place. Only one eagle could not be identified to species.
While this is a high number of eagles for early in the season, it is nowhere near a record, and not too unusual.
The local American Goshawk was seen hunting over Hummingbird Plume.
Non-raptor Observations:
Right before we got busy with counting eagles, a flock of 16 Bohemian Waxwings showed up and started fly-catching around us. Yes, they were catching insects at this time of year. However, their constant movement around us was more than a little distracting! Other birds were:
Ruffed Grouse 1, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Canada Jay 1, Common Raven 5, Black-capped Chickadee 1,
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
