Sunday, October 21 Mount Lorette [Day 28] 0755-1900 (Bill Wilson, assisted by Lori Anderson, James Bannon, Theresa Cawron and Gord Petersen). The temperature was -3C at 0800, rose to a high of 12C at 1600 and was 7C at 1900. Ground winds were SW 2-12 km/h to 1400 after which they were NE 2-12 gusting up to 20 km/h; ridge winds appeared to be moderate SW all day. Cloud cover was 40-90% cirrostratus and cirrus to 1200 after which it completely cleared to 1700 when 100% thin cirrostratus again formed. Conditions were good for migration and produced 133 migrant raptors of 7 species that moved between 0830 and 1805. The count was a season-high 38 Bald Eagles (21a, 14sa, 2j and 1 undifferentiated immature bird), 5 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1j, 4u), 5 Northern Goshawks (3a, 2j), 3 Red-tailed Hawks (2 (1a, 1j) dark calurus and 1a dark harlani), 4 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 75 Golden Eagles (46a, 4sa, 17j, 8u), 2 undifferentiated eagles and 1 large unidentified falcon. With the exception of a few Bald Eagles and the falcon all birds flew high from Mount Lorette to the Fisher Range and at one time 6 Golden Eagles soared together over Lorette. Early movement was slow and only 5 raptors were seen before 1200 but the rate steadily increased throughout the afternoon and peaked at 39 birds (14 Bald and 24 Golden Eagles) between 1400 and 1500. One adult resident Golden Eagle was seen to the west and 1 adult non-migrant Bald Eagle perched on a spruce by the river. The non-raptor bird highlight was a flock of 10 Humorous finches perched on aspens close to the site which included 3 male Cassin’s Finches and 1 female Purple Finch. Other birds recorded included 3 Ruffed Grouse, 1 Clark’s Nutcracker, 2 White-winged Crossbills, 9 American Tree Sparrows and 1 cismontanus Dark-eyed Junco. A single Mourning Cloak was the only butterfly seen. A total of 24 visitors were at the site today.

11.67 hours (294.9) BAEA 38 (133), SSHA 5 (62), NOGO 5 (29), RTHA 3 (27), RLHA 4 (29), GOEA 75 (2154), UE 2 (22), UF 1 (4) TOTAL 133 (2501)

Sunday, October 21 Vicki Ridge [Day 25] 0845-1745 (Peter Sherrington, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite). The temperature at 0845 was 6C the high at 1300 was 16C which fell abruptly to 11.5C at 1400 as the winds shifted from west to east, and it was 9C at the end of observation at 1745. Winds were W-WNW 10-20 km/h to 1400 when they switched to E-SE 15-20 km/h and became light after 1700. Cloud cover was cirrostratus all day: 30-40% to 1000, 80% at 1100 and 100% throughout the afternoon that gave excellent observing conditions. Unfortunately there was only a mediocre raptor movement between 1106 and 1510 involving 63 birds of 6 species. The count was 7 Bald Eagles (6a, 1sa), 9 Sharp-shinned Hawks (2a, 7u), 5 adult Northern Goshawks, 2 Red-tailed Hawks ( 1j light calurus and 1a dark harlani), 20 Rough-legged Hawks (17 light 1 dark, 2u) and 20 Golden Eagles (13a, 4sa, 3j). The highest hourly count was 24 including 8 Golden Eagles, between 1300 and 1400. This hourly count includes 3 adult Bald Eagles and 2 Golden Eagles seen moving to the east of Vicki Ridge by Connie Simmons. No migrants were seen after 1510 as the winds became light. It is possible that westerly winds persisted longer towards the west and eagles might have been moving south above the Carbondale Ridge. Other birds seen included 1 Steller’s Jay, 9 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 240 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that migrated to the south in 6 flocks, 14 Red Crossbills and 20 Pine Siskins, 10 of which also flew to the south. A single Mourning Cloak was the only butterfly seen.

9 hours (223.2) BAEA 7 (150), SSHA 9 (605), NOGO 5 (52), RTHA 2 (162), RLHA 20 (254), GOEA 20 (2127) TOTAL 63 (3565)

Sunday, October 21 Steeples [NO OBSERVATION] (Vance Mattson). Because of disappointing results at the Steeples site Vance decided to check out the Purcell Mountains to the west of the Rocky Mountain Trench, which did not lead to anything conclusive but was interesting nonetheless.  Here is his report. “At 1250, 35 km west on St. Mary’s Lake Road, I spotted an adult Bald Eagle soaring amongst 4 ravens on the north saddle of Mount Bonner; it soared for 10 minutes, before soaring south over Mount Bonner.  4 Mountain Goats were also seen grazing on the ridge of the saddle.  I then drove closer and at 1310 an adult Golden Eagle was seen soaring at the same place.  This eagle was then joined by perhaps a new adult Bald Eagle, and both soared extensively, showing no migratory behaviour.  More ravens joined in, before the eagles could no longer be seen from my vantage point.  Then, at 1339, 2 Golden Eagles were seen soaring (an adult – perhaps the same bird, and a young sub-adult with a missing secondary feather).  Again, no migratory behaviour was observed, and the eagles again could no longer be seen.  Then, an adult of each eagle species were seen (though I am assuming the Golden was again the same bird).  Lastly, an unaged Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen, soaring in the same area.  This all occurred between 1250 and 1405.  The 17 ravens that erupted over the ridge at a certain juncture gave the impression that the eagles and ravens were busy on a gut-pile.  As I was searching for a better vantage point an unidentified eagle was seen gliding south over Mount Bonner.  I drove north up the St. Mary’s Road hoping to find a vantage point of the prominent ridge of St. Mary’s Alpine Provincial Park, which however did not manifest.  It turned out the original vantage point is the most promising of the those visited today”.

Saturday, October 20 Mount Lorette [Day 27] 0755-1900 (Blake Weis, assisted by Patrick Farley and Gord Petersen). It was another pleasant day with a starting temperature of -1C, a high from 1400 to 1800 of 14C and 10C at the end of the day. Ground winds were variable 0-5 gusting to 15 km/h to 1100 and S-SW gusting to 23 km/h for the rest of the day, while ridge winds were moderate SW-WSW all day. It was cloudless to 1500 when 10% cirrus developed that increased to 30% for the last hour of observation. A total of 84 migrant raptors of 4 species moved between 1035 and 1815 consisting of 8 Bald Eagles (4a, 1sa, 3j), 1u dark Red-tailed Hawk of unknown race, 72 Golden Eagles (47a, 4sa, 8j, 13u), 1 unidentified eagle, 1u grey morph Gyrfalcon and 1 small species of falcon. All birds moved on the eastern route generally being located high above Mount Lorette but losing altitude while gliding to the end of the Fisher Range and then usually soaring against the face of the mountains to regain ridge hight before gliding high to the SE. Golden Eagle movement was fairly steady throughout with a maximum hourly count of 18 between 1700 and 1800, and 7 birds were seen between 1800 and 1815. Non-migrant birds were 1 or 2 adult Bald Eagles, a hunting Northern Goshawk and an adult resident Golden Eagle that was seen to the west on the southern flank of Mount Allan. Other birds seen included a Ruffed Grouse, 1 female American Three-toed Woodpecker near the parking area, 2 Brown Creepers, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 6 White-winged Crossbills, 8 Pine Siskins and 1 Lapland Longspur. All the 35 visitors to the site today were able to observe migrating Golden Eagles.

11.08 hours (283.2) BAEA 8 (95), RTHA 1 (24), GOEA 72 (2079), UE 1 (20), GYRF 1 (2), UF 1 (3) TOTAL 84 (2368)

Saturday, October 20 Vicki Ridge [Day 24] 0845-1815 (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Hilary Atkinson, Dan and Charlene Lee and Trevor Lewis, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite). The temperature at 0830 was 10C, the high was a season-high 18C from 1500 to 1700 and it was still 14C at 1815. Winds were strong WSW 40-50 gusting 60 km/h to 1700 after which they diminished to W 10-15 km/h for the rest of the day. It was completely cloudless all day which produced challenging observing conditions. There was a fairly strong but highly sporadic raptor movement of 129 birds of 6 species between 0852 and 1812 that comprised 12 Bald Eagles (6a, 2sa, 3j, 1u), 8 Sharp-shinned Hawks (2a, 6u), 2 adult Northern Goshawks, 3 light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks (2a, 1j), 12 Rough-legged Hawks (10 light, 2u) and 92 Golden Eagles (69a, 2sa, 18j, 3u). Most birds were first seen above Vicki Ridge but after kiting and soaring high the majority glided to the west to Kyllo Ridge where most then glided to the south but others continued towards the west. The highest hourly counts were 23 (all Golden Eagles) between 1200 and 1300, and 26 (including 16 Golden Eagles) between 1700 and 1800. Other birds included 1 female Dusky Grouse near the site, a tight flock of about 100 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches that flow low close to the site and which contained one conspicuous pale leucistic bird, and 12 Pine Siskins. The warm weather also produced 1 Mourning Cloak and 2 Zephyr Comma butterflies.

9 hours (213.7) BAEA 12 (143), SSHA 8 (596), NOGO 2 (47), RTHA 3 (160), RLHA 12 (234), GOEA 92 (2107) TOTAL 129 (3502)

Saturday, October 20 Steeples [Day 28] 1230-1830 (Vance Mattson). The weather was the same as the past several days: a temperature high of 12C, calm conditions and cloudless. The dearth of raptor migrants continued with 6 hours of observation producing just 2 birds: a juvenile Northern Harrier at 1724 and an adult Golden Eagle at 1502. Non-migrants were 2 Northern Goshawks (1a and 1j) seen on two different occasions, and a resident Golden Eagle soared above and in front of the ridge from 1806 to 1828.

6 hours (127) NOHA 1 (13), GOEA 1 (141) TOTAL 2 (415)

Friday, October 19 Mount Lorette [Day 26] 0815-1905 (Caroline Lambert, assisted by Rosemary and Gord Petersen). The temperature at 0815 was -3C, the high at 1600 was 13C and it was 4C at the end of observation. Ground winds were light and variable all day with the exception of around 1700 when there were SW gusts to 15 km/h, while ridge winds were SW-WSW light to moderate all day. Cloud cover was variable 20-70% cirrus that completely cleared at the end of the day which gave good observing conditions throughout. There was a fairly strong raptor movement of 124 birds of 5 species between 0909 and 1836 that comprised a season-high 16 Bald Eagles (6a, 10 sa), 2u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 Northern Goshawks (1j, 1u), 100 Golden Eagles (68a, 8sa, 12j, 12u), 3 unidentified eagles and 1 large unidentified falcon. Most birds moved on the eastern route and only 4 (1 Bald and 3 Golden Eagles) were seen over the western route. There was much soaring flight and most birds originated from Mount Lorette although several appeared to come from farther north. Eighteen Golden Eagles moved before 1400, and 82 after 1400 with 33 seen between 1600 and 1700 and 6 after 1800. A single adult Bald Eagle was considered to be resident. Other birds included 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 1 American Dipper, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 10 White-winged Crossbills, 2 Pine Siskins and 5 Dark-eyed Juncos. Butterflies seen were 1 Milbert’s Tortoiseshell and 1 small Polygonia sp. There were 8 visitors to the site that included 2 post-graduate statistics students from the University of Victoria in British Columbia that are working on the analysis of the first 25 years of RMERF data.

10.83 hours (272.2) BAEA 16 (87), SSHA 2 (57), NOGO 2 (24), GOEA 100 (2007), UE 3 (19), UF 1 (2) TOTAL 124 (2284)

Friday, October 19 Vicki Ridge [Day 23] 0830-1835 (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Hilary Atkinson, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite). The temperature at 0900 was 1C but quickly rose to 9C at 1000, reached a high of 16C at 1500 and was still 14C at 1800. Winds were W 0-10 km/h to 1100 and then W-WSW 10-15 gusting to 20 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 10-20% cirrostratus and altocumulus to 1000 and subsequently varied between 30% and 80% altostratus, altocumulus and cirrus for the rest of the day as bands of high altitude clouds moved slowly to the south. Viewing conditions were excellent over Vicki Ridge all day, but several birds moving to the south over Kyllo Ridge to the west were silhouetted against the sun. The lighter winds provided a moderate and sporadic raptor movement between 1054 and 1736 that involved much soaring flight and comprised 11 Bald Eagles (6a 2sa, 1j, 3u). 13 Sharp-shinned Hawks (5a, 8u), 1 adult Northern Goshawk, 13 Rough-legged Hawks (9 light, 2 dark, 1u) and 36 Golden Eagles (26a, 4sa, 3j, 3u). Most of the birds moved above Vicki Ridge and the maximum hourly counts were 20 between 1300 and 1400 (16 Golden Eagles) and again between 1600 and 1700 (7 Golden Eagles). The cumulative Golden Eagle total of 2015 is a new high count for the site, the previous high of 2001 having been established on November 15 last year. Other birds were scarce but included 7 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 10 Bohemian Waxwings, 12 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 5 Red Crossbills and 5 Pine Siskins.

9 hours (204.7) BAEA 11 (131), SSHA 13 (588), NOGO 1 (45), RLHA 13 (222), GOEA 36 (2015), TOTAL 74 (3373)

Friday, October 19 Steeples [Day 27] 1215-1815 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 12C, it was calm, and 30% cirrus cloud cover gave way to cloudless skies after 1400. Nine migrant Golden Eagles (4a, 2sa, 3j) were seen that moved in two small bursts: 5 birds between 1510 and 1533 and 4 birds between 1710 and 1742. Flight was slow and leisurely and involved soaring with some flapping flight.

6 hours (121) GOEA 9 (140) TOTAL 9 (413)

Thursday, October 18 Mount Lorette [Day 25] 0750-1920 (Rick Robb and Cliff Hansen). The temperature at 0750 was 0C, the high at 1700 was 12C and it was 6C at the end of observation. Ground winds were generally less than 5 km/h and only reached 5-10 km/h between 1400 and 1500, and ridge winds were light SW-WSW for most of the day. Cloud cover was 70-100% stratocumulus to 1300, 90-60% altocumulus and cumulus to 70% that gave sunny breaks after 1400, and finally 90% altocumulus and cumulus at the end of the day; all ridges were clear. There was another fairly strong raptor movement with 90 birds of 5 species seen between 0934 and 1852 comprising 2 adult Bald Eagles, 2u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1u Cooper’s Hawk, 3 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 2u) and 82 Golden Eagles (40a, 7sa, 12j, 23u). Golden Eagle movement peaked between 1500 and 1600 when 21 birds were seen, and migration was entirely on the eastern route with much flapping flight in the calm conditions and soaring after 1400 when the sunny breaks created thermals. Golden Eagles were not seen over Mount Lorette until 1649 after which most birds were initially located there. Resident birds were an adult Bald Eagle that flew low above the river and a Northern Goshawk that twice was heard calling near the site. The highlight of the non-raptor sightings was a flock of 10 Evening Grosbeaks that perched near the site, a species that is surprisingly uncommon in the valley, and 1 Mourning Cloak butterfly was also seen. A total of 78 visitors at the site all enjoyed sights of migrating Golden Eagles today.

11.5 hours (261.3) BAEA 2 (71), SSHA 2 (55), COHA 1 (6), RLHA 3 (25) GOEA 82 (1907) TOTAL 90 (2160)

Thursday, October 18 Vicki Ridge [Day 22] 0830-1835 (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Hilary Atkinson, Doug and Teresa Dolman and Raymond Toal, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite). The temperature at 0830 was 10C, the high was 16C at 1400 and 1500 and winds were W-WSW all day 25-35 gusting to 55 km/h to 1600 and then 40 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 10-30% altostratus and cirrus to 1330 then 70-80% altostratus, altocumulus and cirrus that reached 100% at 1800. Numbers of migrating Golden Eagles continued to steadily decline from the high count on October 15, but there was still a fairly strong movement of 176 birds of 8 species between 0858 and 1804 that comprised 10 Bald Eagles (5a, 1sa, 2j, 2u), 10 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4a, 6u), 4 adult Northern Goshawks, 3 adult Red-tailed Hawks (1 light calurus and 2 dark harlani), 23 Rough-legged Hawks (20 light, 1 dark, 2u), 124 Golden Eagles (83a, 14sa, 24j, 3u), 1 male grey morph Gyrfalcon and 1 adult male Peregrine Falcon. Movement was steady to 1700 and peaked at 51 birds (48 Golden Eagles) between 1200 and 1300) but only 9 birds were seen after 1700. Other bird species were again scarce but included a flock of 30 Pine Siskins that flew low near the site.

9.75 hours (195.7) BAEA 10 (120), SSHA 10 (575), NOGO 4 (44), RTHA 3 (157), RLHA 23 (209), GOEA 124 (1979), GYRF 1 (4), PEFA 1 (9) TOTAL 176 (3299)

Thursday, October 18 Steeples [Day 26] 1300-1800 (Vance Mattson). The temperature was 6C to 9C, it was again calm and cloud cover was initially 90% altostratus that thinned to 60% then 30% altocumulus as the afternoon progressed. No migrant raptors were seen, but the pair of resident Golden Eagles soared above the ridge and above the site.

5 hours (115) TOTAL 0 (404)

Wednesday, October 17 Mount Lorette [Day 24] 0815-1915 (Caroline Lambert, assisted by Katherine Petersen). The temperature was -4C at 0815, the high was 14C at 1600 and 1700 and it was 4C at the close of observation. Ground winds were light SW all day except for mid-afternoon when they gusted 25-35 km/h before becoming light again after 1600; ridge winds were probably W initially light but becoming moderate and possibly strong during the afternoon. There was another fairly strong mainly eagle migration that saw 117 birds of 3 species move between 1134 and 1836. The count comprised 6 Bald Eagles (5a, 1sa), 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk and 106 Golden Eagles (78a, 6sa, 10j, 12u). All but 2 Golden Eagles used the eastern route originating from Mount Lorette and glided high above the ridge only during the middle of the afternoon when the winds increased; otherwise there was much soaring flight, often high above the ridge during the early and late light wind periods, with these birds probably originating from the Heart Mountain area. Only 2 Golden Eagles were seen before 1300 but movement was steady thereafter and peaked at 31 birds between 1500 and 1600. Resident birds were 1 adult Bald Eagle, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk that hunted along the river and 1 adult Golden Eagle that cruised high above the centre of the valley searching for food. With the exception of 3 American Robins all of the other 10 species of bird seen were residents. Nine visitors came to the site today.

11 hours (249.8) BAEA 6 (69), SSHA 1 (53), GOEA 106 (1825) TOTAL 117 (2070)

Wednesday, October 17 Vicki Ridge [Day 21] 0830-1835 (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Hilary Atkinson, Gord Petersen, Raymond Toal and Trevor Lewis, observing from the Waterton 61 wellsite, and Denise Cocciolone-Amatto observing from the ridgetop). It was a warm day with a starting temperature of 7C, a high at 1400 of 17C and it was 13C at the end of observation. The wind was WNW 20 km/h to 0930 after which it was mainly W 30-40 gusting to 55 km/h for the rest of the day. It was cloudless to1600 when traces of cirrus formed that developed to 10% altostratus after 1700. There was again a strong and very varied raptor movement with 225 birds of 12 species seen between 0845 and 1829. The count was 12 Bald Eagles (7a, 2sa), 1 adult female Northern Harrier, 12 Sharp-shinned Hawks (6a, 6u), 2 adult Cooper’s Hawks, a season-high 6 Northern Goshawks(4a, 2j), 2 adult light morph Broad-winged Hawks, 2 adult Red-tailed Hawks (1 light calurus, 1 dark harlani), 1 adult dark morph Ferruginous Hawk, 45 Rough-legged Hawks (39 light, 2 dark, 4u), 141 Golden Eagles (89a, 4sa, 33j, 15u), 1 male American Kestrel and 1u columbarius Merlin that was seen by Denise from the ridgetop. Movement was steady after 1000 and peaked at 61 birds between 1400 and 1500 that included 50 Golden Eagles. Only 7 Golden Eagles were seen after 1600 but 35 of the 45 Rough-legged Hawks migrated in this period including 21 after 1800. Two Mourning Cloak butterflies were also seen on the wing.

10.08 hours (185.9) BAEA 12 (110), NOHA 1 (14), SSHA 12 (565), COHA 2 (72), NOGO 6 (40), BWHA 2 (24), RTHA 2 (154), FEHA 1 (8), RLHA 45 (186), GOEA 141 (1855), AMKE 1 (12) MERL 1 (20) TOTAL 225 (3123)

Wednesday, October 17 Steeples [Day 25] 1530-1800 (Vance Mattson). The weather was again calm, cloudless and 12C but today only 4 migrants were seen: 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1j) and 2 adult Golden Eagles. At 1600, however, the resident pair of Golden Eagles displayed aggressively around what was considered to be a migrant Golden Eagle and made high-speed passes at the bird. The male then pursued the intruder for the full distance of the ridge to the south flank of Mount Bill Nye before displaying again. It is probable, however, that the intruder was in fact a non-migrant bird that had moved into the home range of the resident pair and had been chased out. At the Mount Lorette and South Livingstone-Piitaistakis sites where thousands of migratory eagles pass over occupied Golden Eagle nest sites the resident birds do not appear to regard the migrants as intruders and often perch for extended periods under a stream of migrant birds.

2.5 hours (110) BAEA 2 (85), GOEA 2 (131) TOTAL 4 (404)