MOUNT LORETTE RAPTOR COUNT, FALL 2017
With notes from the reconnaissance counts at Beaver Mines and Steepleswww.eaglewatch.ca

PETER SHERRINGTON

Introduction This is the 26^th consecutive year that RMERF has conducted at least one fall count in the Front Ranges of the Alberta Rocky Mountains. In 1992 an extensive reconnaissance count of 33 days was made at Mount Lorette that produced 2661 migrant raptors of which 2044 were Golden Eagles and demonstrated that the Alberta Front Ranges were a significant flyway for the species. Between 1993 and 2005 full-season counts of 75-101 days were conducted there with the exceptions of 1997 when a full count was conducted at Plateau Mountain about 90 km to the SSE and 2002 when circumstances limited observations at Mount Lorette to only 14 days.

From 2006 to 2009 the principal observation site moved to the Piitaistakis-South Livingstone ridge, which is the southern culmination of the Alberta Front Ranges, near the Crowsnest Pass during which time daily comparative counts of between 40 and 45 days were conducted at Mount Lorette coinciding with the main movement of Golden Eagles. In 2010 Mount Lorette again became the principal observation site with counts conducted over a standard period of September 20 to November 15. This season Cliff Hansen is again organizing the count and if you are interested in visiting the site or volunteering as an assistant (no previous experience needed: just good eyes, enthusiasm and a pair of binoculars) or as an Observer please contact Cliff at 403-673-2422.

Peter Sherrington will also be conducting a count on Vicki Ridge located 4.5 km WNW of the Hamlet of Beaver Mines in SW Alberta, and Vance Mattson will again be watching at his Steeples site which is located on the east side of the Kootenay Valley (Rocky Mountain Trench) 25 km NE of Cranbrook, British Columbia. Information on all the RMERF sites and reports of previous years’ spring and fall counts may be found on our website www.eaglewatch.ca.

Wednesday, September 20 [Day 1] (Joel Duncan) 0800-1900 The starting temperature was 5C, the high 8C at 1700 and it was 7C on departure. Ground winds were generally light S to W that gusted to 20 km/h around 1400, while ridge winds were moderate SW to 1600, after which they were moderate to strong: at 1900 the upper winds appeared to change to NW. Cloud cover was 100% cumulus and altostratus to 1600 when it briefly reduced to 80% before steadily increasing again to 100% by 1900. Apart from three one-hour periods when it was 20% obscured, the eastern route was clear all day; the west, however, was initially 80% obscured then 60% obscured from 0900 to 1400 and 80% to 1600 which then steadily reduced to 20% by 1900. No migrant raptors were seen but a family group of Red-tailed Hawks near Hummingbird Plume Hill comprised light and dark morph adults and a dark morph juvenile. A resident adult Golden Eagle was also seen over the Fisher Range. Other bird species were scarce for the time of year and comprised 1 Belted Kingfisher, 2 Northern Flickers, 2 Grey Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 17 Common Ravens, 4 Mountain Bluebirds, 6 American Robins, 5 American Pipits and 1 Savannah Sparrow.

11 hours TOTAL 0

Vicki Ridge (Peter Sherrington) 0900-1800 Following an exceptionally hot dry summer a wildfire that had been burning west of the Continental Divide in BC for some time moved across the Akamina Pass into Waterton Lakes National Park. On the evening of September 12 hot temperatures, very strong W winds and low humidity led to a rapid expansion of the fire, in excess of 38,000 hectares, into the park and into the grassland to the N of the park, and also into the headwaters of the Castle River in the newly established Castle Wildland Park. Aggressive firefighting and the arrival of cooler weather that brought some rain and snow stopped the spread of the fire, but the whole area, including Vicki Ridge, was shrouded in dense smoke for almost a week. By Monday Morning (September 18), however, the smoke had cleared and the first day of the count was thankfully conducted under smokeless skies. The temperature at 0900 was 4C, reached a high of 7C for most of the afternoon but fell to 5C by the end of observation. Winds were W 30-40 km/h all day with regular gusts of 50-60 km/h. Cloud cover was initially 50% cumulus that thickened and darkened to 70% in the afternoon, but observing conditions were excellent all day. The first migrant of the season was a Sharp-shinned Hawk at 0941 and a total of 38 migrants of 10 species were counted by the time the last bird, also a Sharp-shinned Hawk, flew south at 1720, which was also the only migrant seen after 1600. The flight comprised 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa), 14 adult Sharp-shinned Hawks, 3 Cooper’s Hawks (2a, 1j), 1 adult Northern Goshawk, 1 adult light morph Swainson’s Hawk, 9 Red-tailed Hawks (8 calurus: 6a, 1j and 1 adult light morph harlani, which is a seldom seen morph for the subspecies), 1 adult light morph Ferruginous Hawk, 5 Golden Eagles (3sa, 2j), 1 male American Kestrel and 1 unaged female columbarius Merlin. A resident pair of Golden Eagles was seen throughout the day, and the male displayed briefly at 1219. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for periods of rain and snow which is just what is needed to continue controlling the fire, but does not augur well for raptor movement.

9 hours BAEA 2, SSHA 14, COHA 3, NOGO 1, SWHA 1, RTHA 9, FEHA 1, GOEA 5, AMKE 1, MERL 1 TOTAL 38

Steeples No observation: because of teaching commitments Vance will be unable to observe on Mondays and Wednesdays this season.

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 1

HOURS 11

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU)

OSPREY (OSPR) 5

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 213

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 9

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA)

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA)

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO)

Accipiter sp. (UA)

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA)

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA)

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA)

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA)

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA)

Buteo sp. (UB)

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA)

Eagle sp. (UE)

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE)

MERLIN (MERL)

GYRFALCON (GYRF)

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA)

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA)

Falco sp. (UF)

Unidentified Raptor (UU)

TOTAL 0

April 22 [Day 51] (Jim Davis, assisted by Ruth Morrow, Cliff Hansen and Chris Hunt) 0745-1645. The temperature at 0745 was -3C, reached a high of 10C at 1400 and was 7C at 1645 when fog on the ridges brought the count to an end. It was calm in the valley to 1100 then NE winds 5-20 gusting 30 km/h persisted for the rest of the day. The ridges were also calm to 1100 when light NE winds developed that became moderate after 1300. Cloud cover was 10% cirrostratus to 1000 after which 50% cumulus cloud developed that steadily increased to 100% stratus and cumulus at the end of observation. Observing conditions were excellent to 1545. After 1500 fog began to develop on the top of the ridges and light rain fell shortly after and the count was abandoned at 1645 with all ridges obscured and moderate rain falling. The last day of the count produced 54 migrant raptors of a season high 10 species that, with the exception of 3 birds that moved above the centre of the valley, migrated on a western route from the face of Mount Kidd to the NW behind Mount Allan between 0855 and 1615. The flight comprised 4 Bald Eagles (3a, 1sa), 1 female or juvenile Northern Harrier, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1j, 1u), a season high 4 Cooper’s Hawks (2a, 2j), 2a Northern Goshawks, a season high 21 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (16 light morph: 14a, 2u, 2a rufous morphs and 3 dark morphs: 2a, 1j), 1 dark morph Rough-legged Hawk, 2 unidentified dark morph Buteos, 10 Golden Eagles (3a, 1sa, 4j, 2u), a season high 6 columbarius Merlins (2a males, 2a females, 2u) and 1 dark morph Gyrfalcon. Four of the Merlins moved as male-female pairs and continuously interacted as they flew. The only resident raptors seen were 3a light morph Red-tailed Hawks. Other birds noted included 3 drumming Ruffed Grouse and two that sat on the trail in bright sunshine oblivious to the presence of goshawks in the area, 2 Sandhill Cranes that flew high to the west over the centre of the valley, 4 Northern Flickers, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 3 Tree Swallows, 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 3 Mountain Bluebirds (1m, 2f), 28 American Robins, 5 Varied Thrushes, 15 American Pipits, 1u Yellow-rumped Warbler, 1 Song Sparrow that sang for 2 hours in the morning, 6 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 male Red-winged Blackbird and 1 Western Meadowlark. Fourteen visitors shared the last day of the season.

9 hours (584.2) BAEA 4 (216), NOHA 1 (5), SSHA 2 (16), COHA 4 (9), NOGO 2 (27), RTHA 21 (70), RLHA 1 (23), UB 2 (5), GOEA 10 (2254), MERL 6 (11), GYRF 1 (3) TOTAL 54 (2670)

Mount Lorette April summary (With percentage variance from long-term 20 year average 1993-2016, that excludes the anomalously low counts in 2008-2010 and 2012 which are considered invalid). 21 days (-0.7), 256.6 hours (+5.5): BAEA 65 (-9.7) , NOHA 4 (-1.2), SSHA 14 (-37.2), COHA 9 (+50), NOGO 17 (+45.9), BWHA 3 (+1900, and the highest April count ever), SWHA 2 (the first records ever for the current count period, RTHA 60 (+148 and the highest ever April count), RLHA 2 (-86.7 and equals the lowest March count ever), UB 2 (+66.7), GOEA 240 (-52.7), UE 4 (+233) AMKE 4 (+321), MERL 9 (+109), GYRF 2 (+ 344), PEFA 3 (+253 which equals the highest April total in 1995), PRFA 1(-16.7), UF 1 (+100), UU 1 (-16.7) TOTAL 443 (-34.7) (15 species).

The fall 2017 count at Mount Lorette will start on September 20.

Beaver Mines [Day 56] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Gord Petersen) 0800-2000. The temperature at 0800 was 2C, the high was 14C at 1400 and it was 11C at 2000 when the count ended. Winds were light (4-9 km/h) and variable to 1400 after which they were moderate E 11-20 occasionally gusting to 35 km/h. Cloud cover was 100% thin cirrostratus to 1000 which became thick after 1030 and produced a perfect halo around the hazy sun that persisted for 1.5 hours. In the afternoon cloud cover varied from 80-100% continuously changing cumulus, cirrus, altostratus and altocumulus that generally provided good locating conditions for birds that often soared very high above the ridge and valley. The first migrant was not seen until 1112 but there was then a steady stream of migrants that peaked at 14 birds between 1400 and 1500, and the last bird of the season was an adult dark morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk at 1812. The count was 38 migrants of 9 species and comprised 1 Osprey, 5 Bald Eagles (4a, 1sa), 6 Northern Harriers (2a males, 3a females, 1u), 2a Cooper’s Hawks, 1u Northern Goshawk, 1u light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 12 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (10 light: 9a, 1j, 2a dark), 9 Golden Eagles (1a, 1sa, 2j, 5u) and 1u American Kestrel). The flyway was often crowded with at least 6 soaring, hunting and displaying resident Red-tailed Hawks that were active between 0956 and 1937. The resident male Northern Harrier displayed a few times and both birds hunted the valley floor, especially late in the day; at 1730 the female caught, mantled and partially ate a vole, and returned at 1852 to finish her meal. A pair of Sandhill Cranes were present in the valley for much of the day and periodically displayed and at least 4 other birds were seen soaring and gliding high above the valley during the day. At 1540 a flock of 5 American White Pelicans soared high to the NE of the ridge before majestically gliding high to the north in a tight group. It was a good last day.

12 hours (510.1) OSPR 1 (10), BAEA 5 (304), NOHA 6 (70), COHA 2 (14), NOGO 1 (72), BWHA 1 (15), RTHA 12 (214), GOEA 9 (1069), AMKE 1 (6) TOTAL 38 (1992)

Beaver Mines April summary (new high April counts for the site in bold, and last year’s count numbers in parentheses). 22 days (22), 211.8 hours (194.3), TUVU 1 (0), BAEA 73 (119), NOHA 54 (46), SSHA 48 (89), COHA 11 (18), NOGO 26 (15), UA 1 (3), BWHA 12 (9), SWHA 2 (5), RTHA 116 (236), FEHA 5 (0), RLHA 14 (48), UB 11 (10), GOEA 120 (132), UE 1 (1), AMKE 5 (5), MERL 7 (10), GYRF 1 (2), PEFA 10 (9), PRFA 2 (4), UF 1 (0), UU 2 (1) TOTAL 533 (762) (18 species (17 species)).

Beaver Mines Count summary (new high counts for the site in bold, and last year’s count numbers in parentheses). 56 days (52), 510.1 hours (401.3), TUVU 2 (2), OSPR 10 (0), BAEA 304 (278), NOHA 70 (68), SSHA 71 (98), COHA 14 (18), NOGO 72 (59), UA 1 (4), BWHA 15 (9), SWHA 3 (5), RTHA 214 (301), FEHA 7 (6), RLHA 68 (148), UB 11 (10), GOEA 1069 (1169), UE 3 (3), AMKE 6 (10), MERL 18 (16), GYRF 5 (9), PEFA 11 (11), PRFA 9 (9), UF 1 (4), UU 2 (6) TOTAL 1992 (2037) (18 species (17 species)).

Steeples (Vance Mattson) No observation.

Steeples Count summary 15 days (69.5 hours) TUVU 3, BAEA 110, SSHA 3, RTHA 4, RLHA 1, GOEA 386, UE 6, AMKE 1, MERL 1 TOTAL 515 (8 species)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (March 1 to April 22) (with percentage variances from the long-term averages for the period 1993-2007, 2011 and 2013-16)

DAYS 51 (+2.4)

HOURS 584.2 (+5.4)

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0 (-100)

OSPREY (OSPR) 0 (-100)

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 216 (+19.5)

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 5 (+4.2)

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 16 (-35.5)

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9 (+33.3)

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 27 (+17.4)

Accipiter sp. (UA) 0 (-100)

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 3 (+1900: new high spring count)

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 2 (n/a: first records for count period)

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 70 (+145.2: new high spring count)

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0 (-100)

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 23 (+18.9)

Buteo sp. (UB) 5 (+163.2)

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2254 (-23.9)

Eagle sp. (UE) 13 (+276.8)

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 4 (+321.1)

MERLIN (MERL) 11 (+64.2)

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 3 (+150)

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 4 (+247.8)

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 1 (-53.5)

Falco sp. (UF) 2 (+135.3)

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2 (+11.1)

TOTAL 2670 (-18.5)

April 21 [Day 50] (Caroline Lambert, assisted by Diane Stinson) 1200-2030. Because of heavy snow observation did not begin until noon when the temperature was 4C; it rose to a high of 8C at 1700 and 1800 and was still 7C when observation ended at 2030. Ground winds were variable and light with occasional gusts to 10 km/h, and ridge winds were mainly west and also light. Snow finished shortly after 1200 but there was no accumulation on the valley floor and the snow line on the mountains remained about 100 m higher on the mountain sides. One hundred percent stratus cloud persisted to 1300 after which cloud cover was 50-90% cumulus and altocumulus for the rest of the day. All ridges remained obscured to 1300 when they began to clear: at 1400 the east was 60% clear and totally clear by 1500, and the west was 40% clear at 1500 and finally cleared at 1700. Despite the poor start to the day there was a fairly strong raptor movement dominated by Golden Eagles with 22 birds migrating between 1305 and 1728, 11 of which, including 10 Golden Eagles were seen between 1305 and 1400, and 8 migrants including 7 Golden Eagles also moved between 1600 and 1700. The count was 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1u Northern Goshawk, 1a light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk and 19 Golden Eagles (18j, 1u). Most of the early afternoon movement was to the NW over Skogan Pass and subsequently birds moved on a wide front in the light winds. Resident and non-migrant raptors were 4a Bald Eagles, a pair of Red-tailed Hawks and the Golden Eagle pair, one of which displayed above Olympic Summit. Other birds recorded included 1 drumming Ruffed Grouse, 4 Northern Flickers, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 9 Mountain Bluebirds (6m, 3f), 12 American Robins, 15 American Pipits, 4 Bohemian Waxwings that were catching flying insects above the river, 1 singing Song Sparrow and 30 Dark-eyed Juncos. Seventeen visitors were at the site today. Today was also notable that in 25 years of RMERF history this was the first time that both the Principal and Assistant Observers at the Hay Meadow site were females: job well done ladies! Tomorrow will be the last day of the spring 2017 count and Cliff would welcome help to clear the equipment from the site at the end of the day.

8.5 hours (575.2) SSHA 1 (14), NOGO 1 (25), RTHA 1 (49), GOEA 19 (2244) TOTAL 22 (2616)

Beaver Mines [Day 55] (Peter Sherrington) 1430-1900. Heavy wet snow and sleet fell to 1000 which then changed to rain which finally stopped at 1430 although brief showers and drizzle persisted to 1600. The temperature was 5C when observation started at 1430 and was 6C at 1900. Winds were variable and calm to light (<10 km/h) throughout the observation period, and cloud cover was 100% stratus and cumulus to 1730 when it began to rapidly break up to cumulus cloud which was 40% under bright sunshine after 1830. The only migrant raptor seen was an adult female American Kestrel that flew low to the NNW at 1846, and the only soaring activity in the calm conditions was a pair of resident Red-tailed Hawks that circled low over the valley at 1618. Not a single bird, including ravens, was seen above the ridge all day. The brilliant late evening light, however, spotlighted a mixed grazing herd of 18 Elk, 3 Mule Deer and 20 Wild Turkeys on the grassy hill to the NE. Tomorrow will also be the last day of the Beaver Mines count.

4.5 hours (498.1) AMKE 1 (5) TOTAL 1 (1954)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) No observation.

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (March 1 to April 22)

DAYS 50

HOURS 575.2

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 0

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 212

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 4

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 14

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 5

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 25

Accipiter sp. (UA) 0

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 3

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 2

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 49

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 22

Buteo sp. (UB) 3

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2244

Eagle sp. (UE) 13

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 4

MERLIN (MERL) 5

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 2

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 4

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 1

Falco sp. (UF) 2

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 2616

April 20 [Day 49] (Blake Weis, assisted by Rick Robb) 0710-1835. The temperature at 0710 was -1C and the high was 9C from 1300 to 1530 when the Hay Meadow count was abandoned for the day. Ground winds were mainly SW 0-5 gusting to 15 km/h, and ridge winds were SW light to moderate. Cloud cover was 90-100% cumulus, altostratus and altocumulus to 1400 when low stratus developed that brought rain and by 1530 all ridges were obscured. Observation was then conducted at Lorette Ponds and finally at Lusk Creek where conditions were also poor and the day was finally abandoned at 1835. Before the rain started there was a reasonable movement of 17 raptors of 6 species between 1113 and 1420 comprising 2a Bald eagles, 1 female/juvenile Northern Harrier, 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1u Cooper’s Hawk, 1a light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk and 11 Golden Eagles (3a, 3sa, 3j, 2u). Fourteen of the birds moved from Olympic Summit to Skogan Pass and then on to the NW, and the other 3 birds were initially located over Mount Lorette. Resident raptors were a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk hunting above the river, 2 Northern Goshawks (1 calling near the nest site and 1 hunting over Hummingbird Plume Hill), a pair of Red-tailed Hawks and a pair of Golden Eagles, the male of which displayed above Olympic Summit, and 1a Sharp-shinned Hawk and 1a Bald Eagle were seen at Lorette Ponds and Lusk Creek respectively. There was a good selection of other birds species including first seasonal records of 1 Hooded Merganser and 1 Red-naped Sapsucker (both at Lorette Ponds), 5 Yellow-rumped Warblers, including single male Audubon’s and Myrtle subspecies, a pair of Brewer’s Blackbirds, 2 singing Fox Sparrows and 1 White-crowned Sparrow. Other notable birds were 4 drumming Ruffed Grouse, 1 Great Blue Heron that flew low to the south above the river, 1 singing Northern Pygmy-Owl, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 2 Pileated Woodpeckers, 1 Tree Swallow, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 6 Mountain Bluebirds (4m, 2f), 32 American Robins, 4 singing Varied Thrushes, 1 singing Pacific Wren at Troll Falls, 5 American Pipits. 45 Bohemian Waxwings that flew to the north in 2 flocks and 18 Dark-eyed Juncos. There were just 4 visitors at the site today.

11.42 hours (566.7) BAEA 2 (212), NOHA 1 (4), SSHA 1 (13), COHA 1 (5), RTHA 1 (48), GOEA 11 (2225) TOTAL 17 (2594)

Beaver Mines [Day 54] (Peter Sherrington) 0800-1930. The temperature reached a high of 13.5C at 1600 from a low of 1C at 0800 and was 8C when observation ended at 1930. Winds were light, NW-WNW to 1230 and W to 1530 after which they increased to 30-40 km/h W-WSW. Cloud cover was 100% stratus and cumulus all day that thinned after 1000 and gave hazy sunshine and excellent observing conditions thereafter. Raptor migration was initially slow with only 4 birds seen by 1300, but as the winds increased so did the flow of birds which peaked at 17 between 1600 and 1700. The final count of 44 migrants of 11 species seen between 1058 and 1745 comprised 3 Bald Eagles (2a, 1j), 3a Northern Harriers (2m, 1f), 5u Sharp-shinned Hawks, a season high 3 Cooper’s Hawks (2a, 1u), 1a Northern Goshawk, a season high 6 light morph Broad-winged Hawks (1a, 5u), 4 of which soared very high together at 1655, 1u light morph Swainson’s Hawk, 7a calurus Red-tailed Hawks (5 light and 2 dark), 1u light morph Ferruginous Hawk, 12 Golden Eagles (2a, 2sa, 8j) and 2a Peregrine Falcons (1male, 1u). Between 4 and 6 resident Red-tailed Hawks were conspicuous between 1206 and 1930, and often soared to considerable heights in the late afternoon, and a resident male Northern Harrier periodically displayed over the ridge. As I write this at 0700 on Friday, heavy wet snow is falling and rain and snow are forecast for much of the day, but the prospects for migration on Saturday, which will be last day of the count, are good.

11.5 hours (493.6) BAEA 3 (299), NOHA 3 (64), SSHA 5 (71), COHA 3 (12), NOGO 1 (71), BWHA 6 (14), SWHA 1 (3), RTHA 7 (202), FEHA 1 (7), GOEA 12 (1060), PEFA 2 (11) TOTAL 44 (1953)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) No observation.

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (March 1 to April 22)

DAYS 49

HOURS 566.7

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 0

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 212

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 4

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 13

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 5

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 24

Accipiter sp. (UA) 0

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 3

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 2

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 48

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 22

Buteo sp. (UB) 3

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2225

Eagle sp. (UE) 13

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 4

MERLIN (MERL) 5

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 2

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 4

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 1

Falco sp. (UF) 2

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 2594

April 19 [Day 48] (Joel Duncan, assisted by Caroline Lambert) 0900-2100. The temperature at 0900 was 4C, the high between 1600 and 1900 was 10C and it was still 7C at 2100. Ground winds were initially SW that backed gradually to SE by 1800 after which they were SW again. Velocities were 5-10 gusting 17-24 km/h to 1900 after which it was calm, while ridge winds were strong SW to 1500, moderate to 1900 and then light for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 30-60% mainly cumulus all day, and the ridges were completely clear. A total of 13 migrant raptors of 3 species was seen between 1502 and 1935, 5 of which moved between 1502 and 1600. The count was 1a Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2a Swainson’s Hawks (1 light, 1 rufous) and 10 Golden Eagles (3a, 2sa, 4j, 1u). The adult rufous morph Swainson’s Hawk seen at 1712 was the earliest ever at the site and the first to be recorded within the current standardized count period that finishes on April 22. The previous earliest record was May 4, 1998. It was followed at 1802 by an adult light morph bird. Resident raptors were 2 Northern Goshawks (1a, 1j) seen over the meadow, 3 adult light morph Red-tailed Hawks, a pair of Golden Eagles that flew from the Fisher Range to Olympic Summit and a columbarius Merlin that was briefly glimpsed as it hunted birds in the meadow. Other birds present included 2 Ruffed Grouse (1 of which was drumming), 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 10 Tree Swallows, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a flock of 12 Mountain Bluebirds (8m, 4f), 9 American Robins, 1 Varied Thrush, 7 American Pipits, 31 Dark-eyed Juncos and 1 Common Redpoll. Wood Frogs sang from the small pond near the observation site for the first time this year. Nine visitors came to the site and 2 people from the French language Radio Canada network filmed and conducted interviews for 3 hours for a television piece on our 25^th anniversary of counting at Mount Lorette. Cliff Hansen creditably carried the main burden of the interview in french.

12 hours (555.3) SSHA 1 (12), SWHA 2 (2), GOEA 10 (2214) TOTAL 13 (2577)

Beaver Mines [Day 53] (Peter Sherrington) 0800-2015. The temperature at 0800 was already 6C, the high at 1400 was 13.5C and it was still 10C at the end of observation. Winds were W-WSW all day 30-40 gusting to 60 km/h to 1800 after which they diminished to 20-30 km/h for the rest of the day. It was cloudless to 1030 after which it was 30-80% cumulus, altostratus and lenticular to 1600 that became 100% thin altostratus and cumulus that provided superb viewing conditions for the rest of the day. Raptor movement was steady between 0846 and 1921 and peaked at 12 birds between 1300 and 1400. The total of 52 of 13 species is the highest April count so far this season and comprised 1 Osprey, 1a Bald Eagle, 10 Northern Harriers (5 males: 3a, 2u; 4 females: 2a, 2u; and 1u), a season high 11 Sharp-shinned Hawks (3a, 1j, 7u), 1u Cooper’s Hawk, 3 Northern Goshawks (1a, 1j, 1u), 1a light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 16 Red-tailed Hawks (calurus 14: light 11a, 1u; dark 2a; and 2 unknown race, morph and age), 1a light morph Ferruginous Hawk, 1u Rough-legged Hawk, 1 dark morph Buteo, 3 Golden Eagles (2j, 1u), 1a male columbarius Merlin and 1a Peregrine Falcon. The Osprey and Broad-winged Hawk soared high together at 1908 to bring the day’s species total to a season high thirteen. At least 5 resident Red-tailed Hawks were active and conspicuous between 0845 and 1916.

12.25 (482.1) OSPR 1 (9), BAEA 1 (296), NOHA 10 (61), SSHA 11 (66), COHA 1 (9), NOGO 3 (70), BWHA 1 (8), RTHA 16 (195), FEHA 1 (6), RLHA 1 (68), UB 1 (17), GOEA 3 (1048), MERL 1 (18), PEFA 1 (9), TOTAL 52 (1909)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) No observation.

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (March 1 to April 22)

DAYS 48

HOURS 555.3

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 0

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 210

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 12

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 4

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 24

Accipiter sp. (UA) 0

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 3

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 2

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 47

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 22

Buteo sp. (UB) 3

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2214

Eagle sp. (UE) 13

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 4

MERLIN (MERL) 5

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 2

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 4

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 1

Falco sp. (UF) 2

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 2577