Wednesday, October 31 Mount Lorette [Day 38] 0830-1840 (Caroline Lambert, assisted by Joel Duncan). The temperature at 0830 was 3C, the high was 6C from 1400 to 1700 and it was 5C at the end of observation. Ground winds were SW 0-10 gusting 15-20 km/h in mid-afternoon, and ridge winds were strong all day, W to 1400 then NW. Cloud cover was 100% cumulus and altostratus to 1000 that gradually reduced to 70% cumulus at the end of the day. The eastern ridges were clear but the west was occluded to an average of 40% all day. All migrants today were eagles comprising 7 Bald Eagles (4a, 1j, 2u), 29 Golden Eagles (17a, 2j, 10u) and 2 unidentified eagles. The birds moved between 0955 and 1733 and all glided high and fast above the Fisher Range ridge. Movement was steady throughout and the maximum hourly count was 9 Golden Eagles between 1200 and 1300. Other birds seen included a flock of 60 Canada Geese, 3 Northern Pintails flying high to the south, 1 Northern Pygmy-Owl that called early in the morning, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 1 juvenile Northern Shrike, 15 European Starlings, 75 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 7 White-winged Crossbills, 20 Pine Siskins and 1 Dark-eyed [Oregon] Junco. Thirty-four visitors were at the site today.

10.16 hours (399.2) BAEA 7 (161), GOEA 29 (2516), UE 2 (29) TOTAL 38 (2917)

October summary (variance from 1993-2017 valid counts (20) in parenthesis) DAYS 28 (-6.5%), HOURS 298.5 (-5.8%), TUVU 0, OSPR 0 (-100%), BAEA 149 (+4.7%), NOHA 1 (-81%), SSHA 33 (-55%), COHA 3 (-71.1%), NOGO 20 (-31%), BWHA 0 (-100%), SWHA 1 (+2000%), RTHA 16 (+13.9%), FEHA 0 (-100%), RLHA 28 (-32.1%), GOEA 2243 (-19.9%), AMKE 0 (-100%), MERL 2 (-55.3%), GYRF 2 (-23.5%), PEFA 2 (-41.7%), PRFA 0 (-100%), UA 6 (+93.9%), UB 2 (-24%), UE 22 (+657.4%), UF 3 (+125%), UU 4 (+78.2%) TOTAL 2537 (-19.4%)

Wednesday, October 31 Vicki Ridge [Day 35] 0815-1815 (Peter Sherrington, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite and Gord Petersen observing from the Waterton 68 wellsite, 1340-1750). The temperature was 1C at 0815, the high was 5C at 1500 and 1600 and it was 3C at 1815. Winds were WSW 30-40 gusting 50 km/h reaching 60 km/h around 1600. Cloud cover was 100% cumulus and altostratus to 1530, 70% cumulus at 1600 that dwindled to 10% at the end of observation. Very light snow fell continuously until 1340 but the ridges remained clear and it did not appear to impede migration. Movement was slow and sporadic between 0946 and 1807 but produced a reasonable total of 59 migrants of 4 species. The count was 15 Bald Eagles (12a. 1sa, 1j, 1u), 1 adult male Northern Goshawk, 14 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 28 Golden Eagles (18a, 4sa, 3j, 3u) and 1 unidentified eagle. The total includes 18 migrants seen by Gord Petersen between 1406 and 1739 at the western edge of Kyllo Ridge near the Waterton 68 wellsite that comprised 2 adult Bald Eagles, 4 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 11 Golden Eagles (5a, 2sa, 3j, 1u) and 1 unidentified eagle. Maximum hourly passage was 13 between 1400 and 1500 that included 10 Golden Eagles and again between 1700 and 1800 that included 8 Rough-legged Hawks. Other birds seen included 1 adult Northern Shrike, 2 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 305 Bohemian Waxwings in 5 flocks, 290 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches in 5 flocks and 96 Pine Siskins.

10 hours (317.8), BAEA 15 (314), NOGO 1 (93), RLHA 14 (402), GOEA 28 (2490), UE 1 (5) TOTAL 59 (4322)

October summary (last year’s count in parenthesis) DAYS 28 (29), HOURS 253.8 (241.98), TUVU 0 (0), OSPR 3 (4), BAEA 297 (186), NOHA 4 (10), SSHA 362 (382), COHA 40 (46), NOGO 80 (65), BWHA 11 (19), SWHA 0 (0), RTHA 122 (164), FEHA 6 (2), RLHA 392 (486), GOEA 2309 (1694), AMKE 4 (5), MERL 8 (9), GYRF 4 (2), PEFA 4 (10), PRFA 3 (4), UA 7 (5), UB 24 (16), UE 4 (14), UF 1 (2), UU 3 (0) TOTAL 3688 (3125)

Wednesday, October 31 Steeples [Day 37] 1515-1730 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 8C, winds were moderate S, cloud cover was 90% stratus and cumulus and the ridges were partially obscured throughout the observation period. No migrant or resident raptors were seen.

2, 25 hours (159.8) TOTAL 0 (425)

October summary DAYS 27, HOURS 120.8, TUVU 0, OSPR 2, BAEA 75, NOHA 10, SSHA 49, COHA 2, NOGO 6, BWHA 0, SWHA 0, RTHA 39, FEHA 0, RLHA 3, GOEA 130, AMKE 2, MERL 2, GYRF 1, PEFA 0, PRFA 0, UA 0, UB 0, UE 2, UF 0, UU 1 TOTAL 324

Tuesday, October 30 Mount Lorette [Day 37] 0830-1830 (Cliff Hansen, assisted by Brian McBride). The temperature reached a high of 6C at 1500 and 1600 from a morning low of -1C and it was 4C at 1830. Ground winds were SW all day, 0-10 gusting to 15 km/h in the afternoon and ridge winds appeared to be moderate NW. Cloud cover was 70-50% cumulus and altocumulus all day apart from 1240-1310 when a light snow squall obscured the sky and ridges which otherwise were clear all day. Observing conditions were good but the day only produced 13 migrant raptors between 1053 and 1640 which is the lowest count for a non-weather affected day since October 3. The count was 3 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 9 adult Golden Eagles and 1 unidentified eagle. All the eagles glided high above the Fisher Range and 6 of the birds were seen between 1500 and 1600. A resident adult male Northern Goshawk was seen hunting near the site at 1532. Other birds seen were 2 Belted Kingfishers that flew to the south about 30 metres above the river around 1300 that may have been migrating, 1 adult Northern Shrike, 3 American Robins flying south and a small flock of 4 cismontanus Dark-eyed Juncos. There were 6 visitors to the site today.

10 hours (389.1) RLHA 3 (35), GOEA 9 (2487), UE 1 (27) TOTAL 13 (2879)

Tuesday, October 30 Vicki Ridge [Day 34] 0815-1800 (Peter Sherrington, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite). The temperature at 0815 was 0.5C, the high at 1400 was 8C and it was 3C at 1800. Winds were W and were a remarkably constant 30-40 gusting 50 km/h all day. Cloud cover was 80-90% cirrostratus and altocumulus to 0900 which diminished to 0% at 1300, after which it was 10-20% cumulus and cirrus that was essentially confined to the west. There was a fairly reasonable, although rather sporadic, raptor migration with 70 birds of 7 species moving between 0821 and 1721. The count was 25 Bald Eagles (12a, 5sa, 6j, 1 undifferentiated immature and 1u), 2 adult Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 adult Cooper’s Hawk, 7 adult Northern Goshawks (6 males, 1 female), 1 adult dark morph harlani Red-tailed Hawk, 9 light morph Rough-legged Hawks and 25 Golden Eagles (21a, 1j, 3u). The highest hourly count was 14 between 1400 and 1500 that included 9 Bald and 4 Golden Eagles. The 3 Bald Eagles that were seen at 1429 moved the cumulative total species count above the previous fall site record of 4237 that was established on November 15 last year. Other bird sightings included 4 Trumpeter Swans (3a, 1j) that flew to the WNW over Kyllo Ridge at 0943, 8 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 56 Bohemian Waxwings flying south in 3 flocks, 200 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches in 7 flocks, 7 Red Crossbills and 24 Pine Siskins.

9.75 hours (307.8) BAEA 25 (299), SSHA 2 (626), COHA 1 (743), NOGO 7 (92), RTHA 1 (173), RLHA 9 (388), GOEA 25 (2462) TOTAL 70 (4263)

Tuesday, October 30 Steeples [Day 36] 1315-1745 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 10C, winds were light W and S, and cloud cover was 60% cumulus and altostratus. Despite the apparently favourable migration and observation conditions no migrants were seen and the only raptor sighting was of a single resident Golden Eagle.

4.5 hours (157.5) TOTAL 0 (425)

Monday, October 29 Mount Lorette [Day 36] 0740-1830 (George Halmazna, assisted by Dan Parliament). The starting temperature was 0C the high was 5.5C at 1600 and it was 3.5C at the end of observation. Ground winds were SW mainly light but gusted to 15 km/h between 1000 and 1200, and ridge winds were SW also light and occasionally moderate in the afternoon. Cloud cover was mainly cumulus all day, 30% to 1200 and 90-70% in the afternoon which provided good observing conditions, and the ridges were all clear. A total of 36 migrants of 3 species were seen between 0932 and 1742 of which 32 were Golden Eagles (21a, 1sa, 3j, 7u): the other birds were 1 juvenile Bald Eagle and 3 Northern Goshawks (2a, 1u). The maximum hourly count was 1600-1700 which saw the passage of 7 Golden Eagles. All movement was along the Fisher Range mainly at ridge level and only the last 5 eagles after 1700 glided high above the ridge. Other birds included 3 Ruffed Grouse, 50 Bohemian Waxwings in 2 flocks, 52 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 11 White-winged Crossbills, 2 Evening Grosbeaks and 31 Pine Siskins. The highlight of the day, however, was a Bobcat that was seen and photographed early in the morning near the site. The animal is rare in the Kananaskis Valley. The 5 visitors today were particularly welcome as they brought baked goods for the observers!

11 hours (379.1) BAEA 1 (154), NOGO 3 (34), GOEA 32 (2478) TOTAL 36 (2866)

Monday, October 29 Vicki Ridge [Day 33] 0815-1840 (Peter Sherrington, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite and Gord Petersen observing from the Waterton 68 wellsite, 1340-1745). The temperature at 0815 was 2C the high at 1600 was 6C and it was 4C at 1815. Winds were W-WSW all day, 15-20 km/h to 1100 then 25-35 gusting to 45 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 70-100% altostratus, altocumulus, cumulus and cirrus all day that provided a spectacular sunrise and sunset and excellent viewing conditions throughout. There was a fairly strong and persistent raptor movement throughout the day with 126 migrants of 8 species seen between 0825 and 1806. The count was the highest since October 20 and the diversity was highest since October 18. The count comprised a season-high 32 Bald Eagles (19a, 5sa, 6j, 2u), 1 adult male Northern Harrier, 4u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1u Cooper’s Hawk, 4 Northern Goshawks (3a, 1j), 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 42 Rough-legged Hawks (32 light, 7 dark, 3u) and 41 Golden Eagles (36a, 3j, 2u). The total includes 35 migrants seen by Gord Petersen between 1340 and 1745 at the western edge of Kyllo Ridge near the Waterton 68 wellsite that comprised 9 Bald Eagles (5a, 4sa), 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1u Cooper’s Hawk, 3 Northern Goshawks (2a, 1j), 16 Rough-legged Hawks (9 light, 5 dark, 2u) and 5 adult Golden Eagles. Twenty-two migrants were seen before 1200 and the hours 1400-1500, 1500-1600, 1600-1700 and 1700-1800 yielded 17, 20, 19 and 21 birds respectively. Non-raptor birds were dominated by finches that comprised 970 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches in 14 flocks, 12 Red Crossbills and 137 Pine Siskins in 5 flocks.

10 hours (298.1) BAEA 32 (274), NOHA 1 (15), SSHA 4 (624), COHA 1 (73), NOGO 4 (85), RTHA 1 (172), RLHA 42 (379), GOEA 41 (2437) TOTAL 126 (4193)

Sunday, October 29 Steeples [Day 35] 1530-1730 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 10C, winds were variable and light, and cloud cover was 80 cumulus and stratus. The ridges were partially shrouded by cloud throughout. No migrants were seen but 2 resident Golden Eagles (1a, and 1j) were seen hunting and soaring over the ridges.

2 hours (153) TOTAL 0 (425)

Sunday, October 28 Mount Lorette [Day 35] 0725-1830 (Bill Wilson, assisted by Cliff Hansen). The temperature at 0725 was 2C, the high at 1600 was 9C and it was 6C at 1830. Ground winds were SW 2-10 gusting 25 km/h and ridge winds were SW all day, moderate to 1100 and then strong. Cloud cover was 100% stratus to 1100 then 40-90% cumulus for the rest of the day with the exception of 1600 when it briefly thinned to 10%. Moderate rain and sleet fell between 0930 and 1030 that completely obscured the Fisher Range that was otherwise 10-30% obscured to 1100. The west was 70-100% obscured to 1100 and was then variably 10-90% obscured for the rest of the day. The first migrant was not seen until 1242, but the final count was 52 raptors of 4 species with the last 2 Golden Eagles moving at the relatively early time of 1608. The count was 8 Bald Eagles (6a, 1sa, 1j), 1 juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 1u) and 43 Golden Eagles (34a, 5j, 4u). All the birds used the eastern route with most eagles gliding high above the Fisher Range, and the maximum hourly count was 17, including 15 Golden Eagles, between 1500 and 1600. Other birds were 1 Mallard flying to the south high above the Fisher Range, 2 female Common Mergansers, 1 Northern Shrike, 4 Canada Jays, 5 Rusty Blackbirds, 85 White-winged Crossbills and 2 Pine Siskins. There were 23 visitors at the site today.

10.92 hours (368.1) BAEA 8 (153), SSHA 1 (65), RLHA 2 (32), GOEA 43 (2446) TOTAL 54 (2830)

Sunday, October 28 Vicki Ridge [Day 32] 0845-1805 (Peter Sherrington, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite and Gord Petersen observing from the Waterton 68 wellsite, 1545-1745). The temperature at the start was 2C, the high was 9C at 1600 and it was 6C at the end. Winds were W-WSW all day, light to 1100 and strong thereafter gusting 60-70 km/h in the middle of the afternoon and were still 40-50 km/h for the last two hours. Cloud cover was 100% stratus and cumulus to 1300 that produced steady moderate and sometimes heavy rain to 1110, although the ridges remained clear. The cloud cover began to break at 1300 and was 90-80% altostratus, cumulus and cirrus to 1430 when it thinned to 20-40% cumulus, altostratus and cirrus until 1800 when it increased to 70%. Once the rain ceased a total of 52 migrant raptors of 6 species were seen between 1128 and 1745 comprising 16 Bald Eagles (11a, 4sa, 1j), 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 4 adult Northern Goshawks (3 male, 1 female), 13 Rough-legged Hawks (9 light, 3 dark, 1u), 17 Golden Eagles (11a, 3sa, 2j, 1u) and 1u male Prairie Falcon. The total includes 16 migrants seen by Gord Petersen between 1545 and 1745 at the western edge of Kyllo Ridge near the Waterton 68 wellsite that comprised 7 Bald Eagles (6a, 1sa), 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 1 dark) and 6 Golden Eagles (3a, 2sa, 1j). Twenty-five of the birds moved between 1606 and 1745. Between 1021 and 1042 a non-migrant Rough-legged Hawk hunted by hovering and planing above Vicki Ridge in steady moderate rain but only made one (unsuccessful) vertical stoop. At 1042 a raven soared low beneath it and the hawk immediately flew to the east of the ridge and out of sight. Migrant finches were 430 Grey-crowned Rosy-finches in 4 flocks and 80 Pine Siskins in 2 flocks.

9.33 hours (288.1) BAEA 16 (242), SSHA 1 (620), NOGO 4 (81), RLHA 13 (337), GOEA 17 (2396), PRFA 1 (5) TOTAL 52 (4067)

Sunday, October 28 Steeples [Day 33] 1330-1730 (Vance Mattson). The mountain ridges were heavily obscured although the valley began to clear at 1300. Vance observed from the balcony of his house in Wasa where the temperature reached 11C, conditions were calm and cloud cover was 60% stratus and cumulus that brought rain showers between 1420 and 1500. The only migrant seen was a juvenile Bald Eagle at 1403.

4 hours (151) BAEA 1 (91) TOTAL 1 (425)

Saturday, October 27 Mount Lorette [Day 34] 0845-1815 (Blake Weis, assisted by Rosemary). The temperature at 0845 was 3C the high was 7C (1400-1700) and it was 5C at 1815. Ground winds were SSW all day 3-10 gusting 20-30 km/h and ridge winds were strong SW-WSW all day. Cloud cover was initially 20% altocumulus that increased to 60% at 1200, decreased to 20% altocumulus and cirrus at 1500 after which it was 30% cirrus and altocumulus for the rest of the day. The first bird of the day was an adult Peregrine Falcon at 1131 that crossed the Kananaskis Valley from the summit of Mount Lorette to the northern end of the Fisher Range in about 30 seconds. Unfortunately, the rest of the day up to 1744 only produced another 18 migrants that comprised 2 adult Bald Eagles, 15 Golden Eagles (12a, 1j, 2u) and 1 unidentified eagle. Seven of the Golden Eagles moved between 1500 and 1600. Most of the birds were initially located at the northern end of the Fisher Range and most glided fairly high above the ridge. Other birds flying to the south were a flock of 25 Canada Geese, 1 Clark’s Nutcracker, 20 Bohemian Waxwings, 40 White-winged Crossbills and 35 Pine Siskins. There were 15 visitors at the site today.

9.5 hours (357.2) BAEA 2 (145), GOEA 15 (2403), UE 1 (26) PEFA 1 (2) TOTAL 19 (2776)

Saturday, October 27 Vicki Ridge [Day 31] 0845-1800 (Peter Sherrington, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite). The starting temperature was 4C the high at 1600 was 10C and it was 6C at 1800. Winds were W-WSW all day, 10-15 km/h to 0930 then 30-40 gusting 50-70 km/h for the rest of the day. It was cloudless to 1530 when traces of cirrus and cumulus began to develop that became 30% cirrus at 1700 and 100% thin cirrostratus and altocumulus at 1800. Today’s count was 64 raptors of 5 species that moved between 0907 and 1748 which comprised 15 Bald Eagles (12a, 1sa, 2u), 3 adult Northern Goshawks, 2 adult Red-tailed Hawks (1 light calurus and 1 dark harlani) that soared together above Vicki Ridge at 1531 and brought the season’s total raptor count to 4000, 14 Rough-legged Hawks (11 light, 1 dark, 2u) and 30 Golden Eagles (23a, 2sa, 4j, 1u). Thirty-six migrants, including 26 Golden Eagles, were counted before 1200 and a significant migration appeared to be in the offing, but the next 3 hours yielded only 7 birds before a slight recovery saw the movement of 21 more raptors between 1510 and 1748. Other birds seen included a large adult white-headed gull (probably a Herring Gull) that flew high to the west from the northern end of Kyllo Ridge at 1531, 6 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 1 American Robin, 271 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew to the south in 6 flocks, 15 Red Crossbills and 10 Pine Siskins.

9.25 hours (278.7) BAEA 15 (226), NOGO 3 (77), RTHA 2 (171), RLHA 14 (324), GOEA 30 (2379) TOTAL 64 (4015)

Saturday, October 27 Steeples [Day 33] 1245-1745 (Vance Mattson). The ridges became clear by 1230, the temperature reached 12C under sunny skies, winds were moderate SW that became calm by 1600 and cloud cover was initially 30% cumulus that became 40% cirrus by 1600. Five migrants were seen between 1256 and 1657 comprising 4 Bald Eagles (2a, 2j) and 1 juvenile Golden Eagle. Two further Bald Eagles (1a, 1j) were considered to be non-migrants.

5 hours (147) BAEA 4 (90), GOEA 1 (144) TOTAL 5 (424)