Monday, October 16 [Day 25] (George Halmazna, assisted by Dan Parliament) 0715-1700. The temperature was already 9.5C at 0715, rose to a high of 12.5C at 1500 and was still 12C at the end of observation. Ground winds were SW 20-30 km/h that gusted to 65 km/h after 1300 and ridge winds were very strong SW all day. Cloud cover was 60-80% cirrostratus, altostratus, cumulus and stratus all day and observing conditions were good except when high flying eagles disappeared into low cloud above the Fisher Range. There was another fairly strong raptor movement, again dominated by Golden Eagles, between 0853 and 1627 with a peak hourly count of 26 between 0900 and 1000. The count was 2 adult Bald Eagles, 106 Golden Eagles (51a, 1sa, 5j, 49u), 1u Gyrfalcon and 1 adult Peregrine Falcon. All birds moved very fast and on average 200-400 m above the Fisher Range, and often disappeared into the cloud base. This, combined with the difficulty of keeping the telescope trained in the high winds, accounts for the high percentage of unaged Golden Eagles. Other birds seen included 3 Trumpeter Swans, 8 high-flying migrating Common Loons seen on four occasions, 2 Evening Grosbeaks and 5 Pine Siskins. Thirty-one visitors also braved the winds to arrive at the site today. George was taken ill late in the afternoon and had to leave the site early, but by that time no migrant had been seen for over half-an-hour so few birds are likely to have been missed. We wish him a speedy recovery.

9.75 hours (281.6) BAEA 2 (66), GOEA 106 (2081), GYRF 1 (2), PEFA 1 (6) TOTAL 110 (2339)

Vicki Ridge [Day 25] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Raymond Toal) 0830-1815 (Observation from the Waterton 61 well site on the western flank of the ridge). 0845-1815. It was a warm day with a starting temperature of 10C that reached a high of 14C at 1600 and was still 12C at 1800. Winds were WSW-W all day 30-60 gusting 70-80 km/h and reaching above 90 km/h at 1500 and 1600. I saw two trees fall and heard others crash to the ground in adjacent woodlands. In compensation, however cloud cover was 20-70% thin altostratus, altocumulus and cumulus all day which provided sunny conditions and excellent light to observe and age the migrants. There was a fairly strong and varied raptor movement involving 8 species that comprised 1 juvenile Bald Eagle, 24 Sharp-shinned Hawks (18a, 4u), 1 adult Cooper’s Hawk, 1 adult light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 4 adult Red-tailed Hawks (calurus 3: 1 light, 2 dark; harlani 1 dark), 23 Rough-legged Hawks (22 light, 1 dark), 2 unidentified Buteos (1 light, 1 dark), 107 Golden Eagles (68a, 9sa, 30j) and 1 Prairie Falcon. The count includes 31 birds (2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 3 Rough-legged Hawks and 25 Golden Eagles) seen by Raymond between 1150 and 1400 on the western side of Kyllo Ridge near the Waterton 68 well site. By 1400 143 migrants had been counted but the following 4 hours produced only a further 21 birds as the winds reached their maximum velocity for the day. Once again the only migrating songbirds were Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches with flocks of 30 and 75 flying south at 0930 and 1306 respectively. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for winds gusting 90 to120 km/h so I think it is safe to assume that I will not be observing from the top of the ridge!

9.5 hours (208.1) BAEA 1 (51), SSHA 24 (632), COHA 1 (79), BWHA 1 (31), 4 RTHA (209), RLHA 23 (141), UB 2 (17), GOEA 107 (1113), PRFA 1 (2) TOTAL 164 (2419)

Steeples [Day 19] (Vance Mattson) 1330-1530. Observation was from the South Lakit site where the temperature was 12C, winds were strong SW, and 40% cumulus, altocumulus and altostratus cloud cover gave sunny conditions. Ten migrant raptors were seen that comprised 6 Bald Eagles (4a, 1sa, 1j), 1 juvenile light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk and 3 adult Golden Eagles. Four Bald Eagles were above the site at 1530 when Vance had to leave because of a teaching commitment, so more migrants might have been expected.

2 hours (90.5) BAEA 6 (112), RTHA 1 (43) GOEA 3 (50) TOTAL 10 (318)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 25

HOURS 281.6

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 66

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 5

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 71

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 15

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 18

Accipiter sp. (UA) 3

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 28

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 18

Buteo sp. (UB) 8

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2081

Eagle sp. (UE) 3

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 1

MERLIN (MERL) 4

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 2

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 6

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 3

Falco sp. (UF) 2

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 2339

Sunday, October 15 [Day 24] (Bill Wilson, assisted by Lori Anderson, Jon Gazpelumendr and Josh Horwood) 0700-1905. It was a much warmer day today with a starting temperature of 4C, a high at 1600 of 11C and 9C at 1900. Ground winds were 5-25 gusting to 55 all day, SSE to 1100 and SW for the rest of the day, while ridge winds were strong WSW to 1400 and moderate to strong after. Cloud cover was 80-100% altostratus to 1600 which gradually thinned to 50% by 1900. The ridges were essentially clear all day. There was another strong raptor movement with 198 eagles migrating between 0757 and 1815 that comprised 7 Bald Eagles (3a, 4j) and 191 Golden Eagles (91a, 4sa, 17j, 71u). Movement was fairly steady all day with a maximum hourly count of 39 between 1200 and 1300, and most were seen above the Fisher Range having mainly come from Mount Lorette. A few birds were seen on the western route or glided high above the centre of the valley in the morning. The only migrant songbirds recorded were 1 American Pipit, 1 Lapland Longspur and 5 Pine Siskins, and 22 visitors made it to the site today.

12.08 hours (271.9) BAEA 7 (64), GOEA 191 (1975) TOTAL 198 (2229)

Vicki Ridge [Day 24] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Raymond Toal and Klaus Exner) 0830-1815 (Observation from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge). The temperature reached a high of 9C at 1600 and 1700 from a starting low of 2C and was 8C at 1800. Winds were again strong WSW-W all day 45-70 gusting 80 km/h and reaching 90 km/h around 1600, and cloud cover was a 60-100% ever changing kaleidoscope of high-wind clouds (altostratus, altocumulus, lenticular and cumulus) that brought periods of bright sunshine and others of deep gloom. There was a persistent raptor movement all day, with most of the Golden Eagles migrating over Kyllo Ridge to the west of the site, many of which disappeared behind the ridge and it was apparent that many more birds were moving unseen farther west. Between 1600 and 1630 Raymond and Klaus observed on the western side of Kyllo Ridge near the Waterton 68 well site and recorded 12 migrating raptors (1 Bald Eagle, 2 Rough-legged Hawks, 1 unidentified Buteo and 8 Golden Eagles) in 30 minutes, none of which could be seen from the main observation site. The observation also coincided with the strongest winds of the day. The final count of 6 species, including these birds, was 4 Bald Eagles (2a, 1sa, 1j), 10 Sharp-shinned Hawks (6a, 4u), 3 Northern Goshawks (2a, 1u), 8 Red-tailed Hawks (6 calurus: 4 light: 3a, 1j, 2a dark; and 2a dark harlani), 14 Rough-legged Hawks (11 light, 2 dark, 1u), 1 unidentified Buteo and 99 Golden Eagles (40a, 5sa, 12j, 42u). As yesterday the only significant songbird moment was 730 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches in 3 flocks. At 1511 a Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen in the middle of a small cloud of 80 finches and faced with a plethora of targets failed to catch any. It was last seen gliding high and fast to the south above the ridge closely pursued by a tight ball of Rosy-Finches. High winds continue to be forecast so observation will again be from the Waterton 61 site tomorrow.

9.75 hours (198.6) BAEA 4 (50), SSHA 10 (608), NOGO 3 (59), RTHA 8 (205), RLHA 14 (118), UB 1 (15), GOEA 99 (1006), TOTAL 139 (2255)

Steeples [Day 18] (Vance Mattson) 1100-1800. The temperature was 9C at 1100, reached a high of 11C and was 10C at 1800. Winds were moderate to strong S-SW all day and cloud cover was originally 50% cumulus, altostratus and cirrus that gradually diminished to 20% cumulus by 1500. As yesterday, a total of 21 raptors were counted between 1130 and 1540, but today 6 species were involved: 14 Bald Eagles (11a, 2sa, 1u), 1 adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 adult Northern Goshawk, 2 adult Red-tailed Hawks (1 light calurus and 1 dark harlani), 1 light morph Rough-legged Hawk and 2 adult Golden Eagles. The last birds seen were 6 Bald Eagles that moved south together but no further migrants were counted after 1540. Non-migrants were 5 Bald Eagles (4a, 1j), 1 hunting adult Red-tailed Hawk and an adult Golden Eagle that was persistently harassed by a raven near the day’s end.

7 hours (88.5) BAEA 14 (106), SSHA 1 (72), NOGO 1 (8), RTHA 1 (42), RLHA 1 (3), GOEA 2 (47) TOTAL 21 (308)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 24

HOURS 271.9

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 64

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 5

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 71

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 15

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 18

Accipiter sp. (UA) 3

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 28

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 18

Buteo sp. (UB) 8

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 1975

Eagle sp. (UE) 3

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 1

MERLIN (MERL) 4

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 5

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 3

Falco sp. (UF) 2

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 2229

Saturday, October 14 [Day 23] (Jim Davis, assisted by Ruth Morrow) 0730-1900. It was a cool day with a starting temperature of -1C, a high of 5C at 1600 and 3C at the end of observation. Ground winds were SW all day, 10-20 gusting to 32 km/h, while ridge winds were very strong all day, SW to 1000, NW to 1500 and finally W for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 50-70% cumulus, cirrostratus and lenticular all day. The east ridges were clear but the west was 30% obscured to 1100 and after 1400 they gradually occluded to 30% again at 1900. After 4 days of indifferent migration weather today produced the second-highest combined-species and Golden Eagle counts of the season with a total of 233 birds of 8 species moving between 0909 and 1845. The count was 4 Bald Eagles (1a, 2sa, 1j), 2u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 juvenile Cooper’s Hawk, 2 Northern Goshawks (1a, 1u), 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 1 dark), 210 Golden Eagles (36a, 5sa, 20j, 149u) and 1 Prairie Falcon. Movement was steady all day but massively peaked in the last three hours when 157 birds were counted including single hour totals of 63 (1700-1800) and 60 (1800-1845). The high number of unaged Golden Eagles reflects the poor light conditions during this peak movement period. Only 3 birds were seen to the west, the Cooper’s Hawk flew low above the river and the rest moved on the eastern route with only a single group of 7 Golden Eagles initially located over Mount Lorette. The main flight appeared to have originated from Heart Mountain via Mount Baldy to the north of the Fisher Range. The only migrant songbirds were 5 American Robins and 3 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, and there was a very large and very fresh pile of probable Grizzly Bear scat on the western side of the Hay Meadow early in the morning. Twenty visitors were also at the site today.

11.5 hours (259.8) BAEA 4 (57), SSHA 2 (71), COHA 1 (15), NOGO 2 (18), RTHA 1(28), RLHA 2 (18), GOEA 210 (1784), PRFA 1 (3) TOTAL 223 (2031)

Vicki Ridge [Day 23] (Peter Sherrington) 0900-1815 (Observation from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge). The temperature at 0900 and 1800 was 1C and the high was 4C at 1400 and 1500. Winds were strong W-WSW 40-60 gusting 80-90 km/h and cloud cover was 20% altostratus, altocumulus and lenticular to 1000, 50% at 1100 and then 70-90% altostratus, altocumulus, cumulus, cirrus and lenticular for the rest of the day. The strong winds produced a count of 60 raptors of 6 species between 0907 and 1907, 29 of which occurred before 1200 with the flow diminishing as wind velocities steady increased throughout the afternoon. The count was 2 adult Bald Eagles, 2 adult Sharp-shinned Hawks, 4 adult Red-tailed Hawks (3 calurus: 2 light, 1 dark; and 1 dark harlani), 3 Rough-legged Hawks (2 light, 1 dark), 1 unidentified dark Buteo, 49 Golden Eagles (29a, 3sa, 14j, 1u) and I adult male Peregrine Falcon. Eleven of the first 24 birds seen moved south above Kyllo Ridge to 1105, but subsequently the migration was exclusively high above Vicki Ridge. The only songbird movement was 660 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew south in 4 flocks between 0923 and 1753. The wind warning remains in affect so I shall also be watching from the wellsite tomorrow.

9.25 hours (188.8) BAEA 2 (46), SSHA 2 (598), RTHA 4 (197), RLHA 3 (104), UB 1 (14), GOEA 47 (907), PEFA 1 (13) TOTAL 60 (2116)

Steeples [Day 17] (Vance Mattson, assisted by Gaby Zezulka and Virginia Rasch) 1100-1730. It was a cool day with an initial temperature of 7C dropping to 5C at 1400-1730. Winds were moderate to strong S, and 100% altostratus and cumulus cloud developed soon after observation started. A total of 21 migrants comprised a season-high count of 18 Bald Eagles (11a, 7j), and 3 Golden Eagles (2a, 1j), with all but one bird moving between 1325 and 1408. The last bird, an adult Golden Eagle, was seen at 1709. Non-migrant birds were an adult Bald Eagle and an adult Red-tailed Hawk.

6.5 hours (81.5) BAEA 18 (92), GOEA 3 (45) TOTAL 21 (287)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 23

HOURS 259.8

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 57

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 5

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 71

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 15

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 18

Accipiter sp. (UA) 3

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 28

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 18

Buteo sp. (UB) 8

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 1784

Eagle sp. (UE) 3

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 1

MERLIN (MERL) 4

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 5

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 3

Falco sp. (UF) 2

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 2031

Friday, October 13 [Day 22] (Blake Weis, assisted by Lori Anderson and Caroline Lambert) 0800-1900. The temperature at 0800 was -3C, rose to a high of 1C at 1600 and was 0C at 1900. Ground winds were light 0-5 km/h to 1200 after which they were N-NW 5-10 gusting to 20 km/h, while ridge winds were light NW to 1200 and moderate NW in the afternoon. Cloud cover was 100% stratus and cumulus to 1200, 80-90% stratus, cumulus and altocumulus to 1500, 40% cumulus and altocumulus to 1700 that quickly increased to 70% at the end of observation. All ridges were obscured to 1200 after which the east cleared to 20% at 1800 while the west cleared to 70% at 1700 and 1800 but was 90% obscured at the end of observation as light to moderate snow began to fall. Light snow also fell between 1020 and 1100. Despite the conditions there was a sporadic migration of 16 raptors of 4 species between 1128 and 1749 that consisted of 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa), 3u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 1 dark) and 9 Golden Eagles (4a, 3sa, 2j). Apart from the first bird, a Sharp-shinned Hawk that flew low above the centre of the valley, all birds flew just above the Fisher Range ridge. No Golden Eagles were seen before 1400 and 5 of the 9 birds were recorded between 1700 and 1749. A Eurasian Collared-Dove that flew from the north and perched on a tree near the site at 1030 was a new species for the Lorette area. The bird flew south but what was presumed to be the same bird returned half-an-hour later. There was a fair variety of other bird species in low numbers including 4 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 8 American Robins, 1 Brown Creeper, 1 Lapland Longspur, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 White-winged Crossbill and 2 Pine Siskins. The highlight of the day, however, was an almost black Grey Wolf that walked slowly to the south across the Hay Meadow at 1230. The weather kept visitor numbers down to 6 today.

11 hours (248.3) BAEA 2 (53), SSHA 3 (69), RLHA 2 (16), GOEA 9 (1574) TOTAL 16 (1808)

Vicki Ridge (Peter Sherrington) NO OBSERVATION The temperature rose from -3C at 0900 to -1C at 1200 where it stayed for the rest of the day. Winds were variable and light, and cloud cover was 100% low stratus all day that produced continuous steady light snow and completely obscured all ridges.

Steeples (Vance Mattson) NO OBSERVATION The ridges were obscured all day with light rain and wet snow falling periodically.

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 22

HOURS 248.3

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 53

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 5

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 69

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 14

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 16

Accipiter sp. (UA) 3

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 27

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 16

Buteo sp. (UB) 8

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 1574

Eagle sp. (UE) 3

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 1

MERLIN (MERL) 4

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 5

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 2

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 1808

Wednesday, October 11 [Day 20] (Caroline Lambert) 0800-1200. The temperature was -2C at 0800 and rose to 0C at 1200. Winds were light NE and cloud cover was 100% low stratus. The west was 100% obscured throughout but the east was 30% clear to 1000 after which all ridges were obscured. Snow began to fall at 1030 and when a heavy snowfall warning was issued at 1200 the count was abandoned for the day. Birds seen were 1 Black-billed Magpie, 4 Common Ravens, 22 Mountain Chickadees, 3 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 1 American Dipper and 2 Dark-eyed Juncos of the race hyemalis.

4 hours (227.8) TOTAL 0 (1757)

[Addendum to October 10: Forty-five visitors were at the site today, one for every migrant raptor seen!]

Vicki Ridge [Day 21] (Peter Sherrington) 0910-1420 (Observation from the ridge top). The temperature was 4C to 1100, rose to a high of 6C at 1200 and was 4C again at 1400, Winds were WSW-SW 25-30 gusting 40 km/h, and cloud cover was 100% altostratus and cumulus to 1300 after which it rapidly thinned and was 20% and sunny after 1330. There was a slow but steady raptor movement throughout with 23 migrants of 6 species seen between 0941 and 1401 comprising 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1j), 4 adult Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1u Cooper’s Hawk, 3 Red-tailed Hawks (2a calurus (1 light, 1 dark) and 1 silhouetted bird of unknown race, morph or age), 8 Light morph Rough-legged Hawks and 5 Golden Eagles (1a, 1sa, 3j). The 5 Golden Eagles glided to the south above Kyllo Ridge between 1031 and 1057, while the rest of the movement was above Vicki Ridge. A juvenile Northern Shrike was on the ridge, and the only migrant songbirds were a flock of 40 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew low to the south overhead at 1352. I left at 1420 to drive to Calgary.

5.16 hours (173.3) BAEA 2 (42), COHA 1 (78), RTHA 3 (189), RLHA 8 (85), GOEA 5 (851) TOTAL 23 (2014)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) NO OBSERVATION

Thursday, October 12 [Day 21] (Joel Duncan, assisted by Rick Robb) 1000-1915. There was 8 cm of fresh snow on the ground and the temperature was -3C at 1000 which rose to a high of 1C between 1300 and 1700 before falling to -1C at 1900. Ground winds were SW 5-10 occasionally gusting to 20 km/h in mid-afternoon, while ridge winds were moderate to strong SW all day. Cloud cover was initially 70-80% cumulus and stratocumulus that slowly diminished to 60% between 1400 and 1600, and 10% cumulus at 1700-1800, that increased to 30% for the last hour. A total of 35 raptors of 4 species moved between 1051 and 1830 comprising 1u light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 1 light morph Rough-legged Hawk, 1u dark morph Buteo, 30 Golden Eagles (15a, 5sa, 4j, 6u), 1 unidentified eagle and 1 unidentified small falcon. Movement was slow up to 1400 after which the rate steadily increased and peaked at 8 birds between 1700 and 1800. Only 2 eagles were initially located over Mount Lorette, the rest appearing at the northern end of the Fisher Range from where they slowly glided and flapped to the SE at ridge level. Other birds seen included 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 1 Lapland Longspur, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, 3 White-winged Crossbills and 1 Pine Siskin. A total of 41 visitors included a party of 32 students and staff of the grade 11 science class from Father Lacombe School in Calgary.

9.25 hours (237.5) RTHA 1 (27), RLHA 1 (14), UB 1 (8), GOEA 30 (1565), UE 1 (3) UF 1 (2) TOTAL 35 (1792)

Vicki Ridge [Day 22] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Raymond Toal) 1200-1815 (Observation from the Waterton 61 wellsite on the western flank of the ridge). There was extensive fog and low cloud to mid-morning but the Livingstone Range was already clear as I was driving back from Calgary in the late morning. The temperature at 1200 was 2C, rose to a high of 6C at 1400 and was 1C at 1800. Winds were WSW-WNW 20-35 gusting to 50 km/h and cloud cover was 40-80% cumulus to 1500 that reduced to 10-30% until 1800 when it quickly increased to 80% as a snow squall swept down from the west. There was a slow but steady stream of 42 migrant raptors of 8 species that moved between 1217 and 1808 and comprised 2 adult Bald Eagles, 7 Sharp-shinned Hawks (5a, 2u), 2 adult Northern Goshawks, 4 Red-tailed Hawks (3a calurus (2 light, 1 dark) and 1 dark adult harlani), 16 Rough-legged Hawks (14 light, 2 dark), 9 Golden Eagles (4a, 3j, 2u), 1 adult female columbarius Merlin and 1 juvenile female Peregrine Falcon. Peak movement was 11 between 1200 and 1300) and 9 birds were seen during two other hours (1400-1500 and 1700-1800). An adult Northern Shrike that perched at the site was the only other bird of note.

6.25 hours (179.6) BAEA 2 (44), SSHA 7 (596), NOGO 2 (56), RTHA 4 (193), RLHA 16 (101), GOEA 9 (860), MERL 1 (16), PEFA 1 (12) TOTAL 42 (2056)

Steeples [Day 16] (Vance Mattson) 1330-1730. The temperature was 8C that dropped to 6C at 1730, winds were moderate to strong S that became almost calm after 1600, and cloud cover was 50-90% altostratus and cumulus that produced wet snow flurries between 1430 and 1435. A total of 11 eagles, 8 Bald Eagles (3a, 5j) and 3 adult Golden Eagles, migrated up to 1601 with 8 of the birds recorded between 1530 and 1555. The only non-migrant was an adult Golden Eagle seen at 1702

4 hours (75) BAEA 8 (74), GOEA 3 (42) TOTAL 11 (266)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 21

HOURS 237.3

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 51

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 5

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 66

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 14

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 16

Accipiter sp. (UA) 3

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 27

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 14

Buteo sp. (UB) 8

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 1565

Eagle sp. (UE) 3

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 1

MERLIN (MERL) 4

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 5

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 2

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 1792