Saturday, November 4 [Day 40] (Jim Davis, assisted by Heinz Unger) 0840-1545. Observation was conducted at Wasootch Creek due east of the Hay Meadow site on Highway 40 where there was 30 cm of snow on the ground and the starting temperature was -23C (with a wind-chill of -32C) with a high of -16C at 1100, 1200 and 1545. Ground winds were light SW, ridge winds were probably moderate SW and cloud cover was initially 20% cumulus that gradually increased throughout the day and became 100% at 1530 that brought steady snow. The east ridges were clear to 1530 when they became 100% obscured, and the west was 60% obscured to 1100 after which it was completely cloud-covered. Despite the apparently favourable migration conditions for much of the day only 2 migrants were seen: 1 adult Bald Eagle that flew south from Mount Lorette over the centre of the valley at 1315, and 1u Golden Eagle that flew from Lorette low against the face of the Fisher Range at 1406. Other birds were 2 Northern Pygmy-Owls duetting at 1344, 2 American Robins and 1 female Pine Grosbeak, and 3 Grey Wolves crossed Wasootch Creek: 1 completely black, 1 mainly black with brown underparts and 1 brown with light tan underparts. Two visitors were also surprisingly recorded.

7.08 hours (433.4) BAEA 1 (155), GOEA 1 (3173) TOTAL 2 (3569)

Vicki Ridge [Day 41] (Peter Sherrington) 1145-1345. (Observation from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge). The forecast called for clearing today which it appeared to be doing so I managed to get to The Waterton 61 site where there was about 50 cm of snow on the ground. The temperature was -15C, winds were light W to calm and cloud cover was 80% cumulus although light snow still fell and the clouds were nearly obscured by an ice-crystal haze. The ridges were clear, however, until 1330 when steady snow began to fall that obscured the ridges again for the rest of the day. No migrants were seen and the only birds recorded were 1 perched Common Raven and, much more surprisingly, 1 perched male Mountain Bluebird.

2 hours (334.8) TOTAL 0 (3841)

Steeples [Day 34] (Vance Mattson) 1300-1700. The valley was heavily overcast most of the day, but it looked as if things might clear around 1300 when observation began, as yesterday, from the Kootenay River site since the mountains were still heavily shrouded. The temperature was -5C and it was calm throughout the observation period. Four adult Bald Eagles and one juvenile dark morph calurus Red-Tailed Hawk were seen, though none of these birds were migrating. As the mountains began to clear Vance returned to the regular site from 1400 to 1445, but the ridges quickly became entirely shrouded again, and the Rockies to the north were fully concealed so he decided to go back to the valley and observed again from the Kootenay River site from 1500 to 1700 after which the overcast conditions thickened and covered the entire valley. Only 2 migrants were counted there, however: one light morph Rough-legged Hawk at 1501 and one adult Bald Eagle at 1605. Both migrants exhibited the same pattern as yesterday’s later birds with flapping flight low over the river.

4 hours (158.5) BAEA 1 (248), RLHA 1 (13) TOTAL 2 (565)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 40

HOURS 433.4

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 2

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 155

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 6

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 81

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 18

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 27

Accipiter sp. (UA) 3

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 29

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 27

Buteo sp. (UB) 10

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 3173

Eagle sp. (UE) 6

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 3

MERLIN (MERL) 5

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 4

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 7

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 6

Falco sp. (UF) 3

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 3569

Wednesday, November 1 NO OBSERVATION (weather). (Joel Duncan, assisted by Patrick Farley). Snow all day and the mountains were obscured apart from a brief appearance of the summit of Mount Lorette. Joel and Pat left the site at 1400 when it became apparent that no improvement could be expected.

Vicki Ridge NO OBSERVATION (weather). Snow all day that obscured all ridges.

Steeples NO OBSERVATION

Thursday, November 2 NO OBSERVATION (weather). Heavy snow all day, mountains obscured.

Vicki Ridge NO OBSERVATION (weather). Heavy snow all day that obscured the ridge.

Steeples NO OBSERVATION (weather). Snow all day that obscured all ridges.

Friday, November 3 NO OBSERVATION (weather). Snow stopped in the afternoon but ridges remained partly obscured and driving to the site was not advisable. The count will probably resume tomorrow.

Vicki Ridge NO OBSERVATION (weather). Snow persisted to early afternoon when the ridges cleared but heavy snow prevented access to the site. I hope to resume the count tomorrow.

Steeples [Day 33] (Vance Mattson) 1130-1800. The site was covered in 30cm of snow and the ridges were entirely obscured when Vance arrived at the site at 1130. It was -6C and calm, and by 1330 it was apparent that the cloud was not going to lift so he moved away from the mountain ridges to see if migration was occurring over the valley which was probable as the last two days had been almost a steady barrage of snow accompanied by poor visibility.           It was not until he arrived at Wasa, however, at 1400, that the first migrants were seen with 4 Bald Eagles and 2 Golden Eagles soaring over the Kootenay River, followed by an Osprey and 6 more eagles before 1500. The next hour saw 10 migrants, and the hour between 1600 and 1700 saw 27 migrants. The last migrants, 4 adult Bald Eagles, all moved between 1700 and 1706.           The final total of 54, which is the second-highest of the season, was 1 Osprey, a season high count of 38 Bald Eagles (20a, 1sa, 17j), 3 Northern Harriers (2 adult females, 1j), 2 light morph Rough-legged Hawks and 10 Golden Eagles (5a, 2sa, 3j. The migrants initially soared at length either over the low ridges just west of the Kootenay River or directly above it; however, from 1630 onward the migrants consistently flapped their way south either over the river or just east of it.           All migration, however, was concentrated over the river area, with no migrants passing over Wasa Lake, which is situated just east of the river. The ridges of the Rockies were heavily obscured during the entire observation period.           The temperature rose to a high of -2C, calm conditions prevailed all day and the skies were 60% altostratus, altocumulus, and lenticular that gave providing partially sunny conditions. A single adult Bald Eagle constituted the only non-migrant seen.

6.5 hours (154.5) OSPR 1 (7), BAEA 38 (247), RLHA 2 (12), GOEA 10 (120) TOTAL 54 (563)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 38

HOURS 416.6

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 2

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 150

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 6

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 81

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 18

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 27

Accipiter sp. (UA) 3

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 29

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 26

Buteo sp. (UB) 10

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 3172

Eagle sp. (UE) 6

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 3

MERLIN (MERL) 5

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 4

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 7

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 6

Falco sp. (UF) 3

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 3542

Tuesday, October 31 [Day 39] (Blake Weis, assisted by Lori Anderson) 0830-1710. The temperature reached a high of 7C between 1300 and 1600 from a morning low of 2C, and it was 4C at the end of observation. Ground winds were mainly SW 0-5 gusting 15 km/h to 1300 after which they were SE-SW 5-15 gusting 25 km/h, while ridge winds were NW all day, light to 1300 then moderate. Cloud cover was 90-100% altostratus and cumulus with minor cirrus and altocumulus to 1200, then 100% altostratus and cumulus for the rest of the day that brought light rain after 1300 and moderate rain and snow as the observers were leaving. All ridges were clear to 1400 when the west rapidly disappeared in cloud but the east was 10% obscured that only gradually increased to 90% at the end of observation. There was a moderate raptor movement of 25 birds involving 3 species that migrated between 1042 and 1356 comprising 4 Bald Eagles (3a, 1j), 1 light morph Rough-legged Hawk and 20 adult Golden Eagles. Fifteen of the birds were seen between 1100 and 1500. Only 3 birds, 2 Bald and 1 Golden Eagle, moved on the western route, all between 1000 and 1100, and the rest moved from Mount Lorette to the Fisher Range with about half the birds arriving at the northern end of the range about one binocular width above the ridge. A northward-bound adult Bald Eagle was regarded as a non-migrant, and 2 adult Northern Goshawks soaring near the site at 1330 were probably the resident pair. There was a good variety of other bird species that included 1 male Belted Kingfisher, 2 Northern Shrikes (1j 1u), 1 male Mountain Bluebird, 4 Bohemian Waxwings, 5 Pine Grosbeaks, 4 Red Crossbills, 3 White-winged Crossbills, 73 Common Redpolls and 4 Pine Siskins. A female Moose with a calf crossed the river to the east bank and 32 Elk browsed on the bare slopes of the ski hill. The 17 visitors today included 14 from Robert Thirsk High School in Calgary.

9.67 hours (426.3) BAEA 4 (154), RLHA 1 (27), GOEA 20 (3172) TOTAL 25 (3567)

Lorette October Summary (October 01-31), with variances to 1993-2016 averages (excluding 1997, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008) Days 29 (-3.3%), Hours 305.7 (-3.7%) Turkey Vulture 0, Osprey 1 (+81.8%), Bald Eagle 126 (-12.01%), Northern Harrier 4 (-24.5%), Sharp-shinned Hawk 37 (-51.1%), Cooper’s Hawk 9 (-13.9%), Northern Goshawk 17 (-42.3%), Broad-winged Hawk 0 (-100%), Swainson’s Hawk 0 (-100%), Red-tailed Hawk 14 (-0.4%), Ferruginous Hawk 1 (+566.7%), Rough-legged Hawk 24 (-43%), Golden Eagle 2896 (+3.6%), American Kestrel 3 (+252.9%), Merlin 3 (-34.1%), Gyrfalcon 4 (+166.7%), Peregrine Falcon 4 (+17.6%), Prairie Falcon 6 (+400%), UA 2 (-36.5%), UB 8 (+240.3%), UE 4 (+40.4%), UF 3 (+140%), UU 1 (-56.5%), TOTAL 3167 (+0.69%)

Vicki Ridge [Day 40] (Peter Sherrington) 0930-1730 (Observation from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge). The temperature at 0930 was 2C, rose to a high of 6C at 1400 and 1500 and was 5C at the end of observation. Winds were W 30-50 gusting 60-70 km/h all day and cloud cover was 70-80% lenticular, altostratus, and cumulus to 1300 after which it was 100% altostratus with minor cumulus and lenticular for the rest of the day. There was a surprisingly strong raptor migration of 67 birds of 5 species between 0946 and 1722 that comprised 7 Bald Eagles (4a, 1sa, 2j), 3 Northern Goshawks (2a, 1u), 1 adult dark morph harlani Red-tailed Hawk, 2 light morph Rough-legged Hawks and 54 Golden Eagles (46a, 4sa, 4j). Movement was steady between 1000 and 1500 but became sporadic after 1500 when only a further 8 birds were counted. Maximum Golden Eagle movement was 13 birds between 1437 and 1505. Forty-six birds moved to the south high over Vicki Ridge and 21 were over the east arm of Kyllo Ridge. Other birds were scarce but included 46 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 1 Pine Grosbeak and 3 Common Redpolls.

8 hours (332.8) BAEA 7 (197), NOGO 3 (98), RTHA 1 (234), RLHA 2 (487). GOEA 54 (1806) TOTAL 67 (3841)

Vicki Ridge October Summary (October 01-31), with 2016 totals in parenthesis. 29 days, (21 days), 242 hours (131 hours) Turkey Vulture 0 (0), Osprey 4 (0), Bald Eagle 186 (90), Northern Harrier 10 (7), Sharp-shinned Hawk 382 (229), Cooper’s Hawk 46 (13), Northern Goshawk 65 (45), Broad-winged Hawk 19 (4), Swainson’s Hawk 0 (0), Red-tailed Hawk 164 (64), Ferruginous Hawk 2 (1), Rough-legged Hawk 486 (203), Golden Eagle 1694 (790), American Kestrel 5 (1), Merlin 9 (12), Gyrfalcon 2 (0), Peregrine Falcon 10 (9), Prairie Falcon 4 (3), UA 5 (2), UB 16 (1), UE 14 (11), UF 2 (0), UU 0 (0) TOTAL 3125 (1476)

Steeples [Day 32] (Vance Mattson) 1130-1615. The temperature was -2C at 1130, warmed to 5C, but dropped to 3C by 1600. It was calm and the sky was a 90-100% blanket of altostratus and darker cumulus cloud.           It looks like it will snow for the next few days. The only raptor seen was a light morph Rough-legged Hawk at 1145 and no non-migrants were seen that added to the almost eerie quietness of the day.

4.75 hours (148) RLHA 1 (10) TOTAL 1 (509)

Steeples October Summary (October 01-31) 25 days (115.5 hours), (21 days) Turkey Vulture 0, Osprey 4, Bald Eagle 178, Northern Harrier 7, Sharp-shinned Hawk 17, Cooper’s Hawk 0, Northern Goshawk 7, Broad-winged Hawk 1, Swainson’s Hawk 0, Red-tailed Hawk 11, Ferruginous Hawk 0, Rough-legged Hawk 10, Golden Eagle 94, American Kestrel 2, Merlin 1, Gyrfalcon 0, Peregrine Falcon 1, Prairie Falcon 0, UA 0, UB 1, UE 1, UF 0, UU 0 TOTAL 509

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 38

HOURS 416.6

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 2

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 150

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 6

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 81

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 18

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 27

Accipiter sp. (UA) 3

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 29

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 26

Buteo sp. (UB) 10

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 3152

Eagle sp. (UE) 6

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 3

MERLIN (MERL) 5

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 4

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 7

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 6

Falco sp. (UF) 3

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 3542

Sunday, October 29 [Day 37] (Bill Wilson, assisted by Lori Anderson) 0755-1850. The starting and finishing temperature was 0C and the high at 1500 was 4C. Ground winds were mainly E-NE 3-10 gusting 15 km/h except around 1700 when they were briefly 5-15 gusting 30 km/h, while ridge winds were NNW all day, moderate to strong to 1200 and moderate throughout the afternoon. Cloud cover was 100% altostratus to 0900 that reduced to 10% cumulus at 1200 while the afternoon saw variable 90-40% cumulus cover that completely disappeared after 1700. The western ridges were 10-20% obscured to 0900 but otherwise the mountains were clear all day. A total of 55 migrant raptors of 4 species were seen between 0940 and 1806 comprising a season-high count of 22 Bald Eagles (13a, 3sa, 3j, 3u), 3 adult Northern Goshawks, 2 dark morph Rough-legged Hawks and 28 Golden Eagles (13a, 2sa, 8j, 5u). Movement was steady throughout the day and peaked at 11 between 1600 and 1700 after which only 3 more migrants were recorded. With the exception of single birds that moved on the western route and over the centre of the valley all the Golden Eagles moved along the Fisher Range at various heights with very little soaring. Many of these birds were initially located above Mount Lorette. The Bald Eagles moved on a broader path between the centre of the valley and the Fisher Range. Other birds included a flock of 13 swans (12 Tundra, 1 Trumpeter) and another of 19 unidentified swans, 130 Canada Geese migrating in several flocks, a flock of 8 migrating Common Loons and 1 high-flying silhouetted gull, while closer to earth songbirds included 1 juvenile Harris’s Sparrow, 3 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 5 Pine Grosbeaks and 20 undifferentiated flying redpolls/siskins. There were 9 visitors to the site today. The weather forecast for all three sites show a northern front arriving on the evening of October 31 (Halloween!) that will bring 4 to 5 days of low temperatures and snow. This has already “pushed” high numbers of migrants ahead of it and it will be interesting to see what numbers are seen in the next couple of days.

10.92 hours (404.9) BAEA 22 (142), NOGO 3 (27), RLHA 2 (26), GOEA 28 (3126) TOTAL 55 (3508)

Vicki Ridge [Day 38] (Peter Sherrington) 0930-1800 (Observation from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge). It was a cool day with a temperature of 2C to 1300 and again at 1800 with a high of 3C the rest of the time. Winds were mainly light N-NNE all day and cloud cover was 100% stratus to 1500 when it began to break up and reduced to 30% cumulus at 1700 before thickening again to 80% at 1800. Despite the light northerly winds there was a persistent raptor movement between 1006 and 1704 that involved 95 birds of 6 species. The count was 21 Bald Eagles (13a, 1sa, 7j), 1 adult female Northern Harrier, 2 Cooper’s Hawks (1a, 1u), 4 Northern Goshawks (1a, 3u), 26 Rough-legged Hawks (20 light, 3 dark, 3u), 40 Golden Eagles (27a, 3sa, 4j, 6u) and 1u dark morph Gyrfalcon. The highest hourly count was 18 from 1400 to 1500 and all other hours between 1000 and 1600 produced double-digit counts. The migration shut down early, however and only one Rough-legged Hawk was seen after 1650. There was also good movement of non-raptor species including 8 Trumpeter Swans that flew west at 0957, 385 Canada Geese in 13 flocks that mainly flew to the west as did 130 high-flying unidentified ducks; migrant passerines were 90 Bohemian Waxwings, 50 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 2 Pine Grosbeaks, 4 Red Crossbills and 23 Common Redpolls.

8.5 hours (316.1) BAEA 21 (162), NOHA 1 (18), COHA 2 (94), NOGO 4 (91), RLHA 26 (482), GOEA 40 (1721), GYRF 1 (3) TOTAL 95 (3699)

Steeples [Day 30] (Vance Mattson) 1345-1815. The valley was socked-in and light rain fell until 1330 when things began to clear. The heavy overcast conditions dispersed by 1430, leaving sunny conditions for the rest of the day with a 40-50% cumulus cloud cover.           The ridges, however, remained partially obscured until 1700. The temperature was 2C, rising to 10C which, combined with calm conditions, produced another beautiful day marked by slow and low moving birds, many of which soared extensively in front of the ridge and moved in and out of the low cloud. The final tally of 52 migrants of 7 species is the second highest daily count this fall and comprised 1 Osprey, 22 Bald Eagles (12a, 1sa, 9j), 1 juvenile Northern Harrier, 3 Northern Goshawks (2a, 1j), 2 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (1 intermediate juvenile, 1 dark adult), 2 light morph Rough-legged Hawks and a season high total of 21 Golden Eagles (18a, 1sa, 1j, 1u). The first migrant was an adult Bald Eagle that flapped south through the rain at 1355, and 5 birds moved between 1400 and 1500. The next hour saw 13 birds, and the peak was reached between 1600 and 1700 with 21 migrants.           12 migrants were counted after 1700, with the last, a juvenile Bald Eagle, at 1735. The only non-migrants seen were an adult of each eagle species.

4.5 hours (141.3) OSPR 1 (6), BAEA 22 (204), NOHA 1 (13), NOGO 3 (12), RTHA 2 (50), RLHA 2 (9), GOEA 21 (104) TOTAL 52 (497)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 37

HOURS 404.9

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 2

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 142

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 6

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 81

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 18

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 27

Accipiter sp. (UA) 3

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 29

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 26

Buteo sp. (UB) 10

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 3126

Eagle sp. (UE) 6

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 3

MERLIN (MERL) 5

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 4

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 7

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 6

Falco sp. (UF) 3

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 3508