Thursday, October 5 [Day 14] (Caroline Lambert, assisted by Rick Robb) 0750-1950. The temperature at 0800 was 0C, reached a high of 15C at 1600 and 1700 and was 6C 1950. Ground winds were light SW 5-10 km/h all day, and ridge winds were probably similar although a completely cloudless sky all day made it difficult to assess them. There was a strong migration dominated by Golden Eagles with a season high 189 birds of 6 species moving between 1014 and 1928. The count comprised 5 Bald Eagles (2a, 3sa), 3u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 adult Cooper’s Hawk, 2 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks, 1 light morph Rough-legged Hawk, ), 1 unidentified dark Buteo and a season high 176 Golden Eagles (94a, 9sa, 46j, 27u). The intensity of the movement gradually increased throughout the day with 137 birds counted after 1500 and peak hours of 38 (17-1800) and 39 (18-1900) with 18 between 1900 and 1928. Most of the early migrants moved on the western route to 1117, and then from Mount Lorette to the Fisher Range to 1200 after which most were initially located at the northern end of the Fisher Range from where they moved slowly south hugging the ridge and often disappearing behind it. Other birds were scarce and were 2 American Dippers, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 12 Common Ravens, 1 European Starling and 2 Pine Siskins. Seven visitors were at the site today.

12 hours (164.8) BAEA 5 (40), SSHA 3 (57), COHA 1 (11), RTHA 2 (20), RLHA 1 (6), UB 1 (5), GOEA 176 (527)

Vicki Ridge [Day 15] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Denise Cocciolone-Amatto) 0900-1815. It was a splendid day on the ridge with an initial temperature of 6C rising to a high of 15C at 1500 and 1600 and it was still 13C at 1800. Winds were steady WSW all day 10-20 occasionally gusting to 30 km/h, and an initial cloud cover of 90% altostratus dwindled to 20-30% after 1000 and it was completely cloudless after 1200. Raptor migration was strong between 1119 and 1750 with a season high total of 183 birds of 9 species moving high to the south and often forming kettles of soaring birds above the ridge involving up to 9 Golden Eagles. The final count (including 1 adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks and 1 adult Golden Eagle seen by Raymond Toal at the south end of Kylo Ridge between 1200 and 1400) was 4 Bald Eagles (3a, 1sa), 1 juvenile male Northern Harrier, 37 Sharp-shinned Hawks (26a, 1j, 11u), 5 adult Cooper’s Hawks, 1 juvenile Northern Goshawk, 1 unidentified small Accipiter, a season high 6 light morph Broad-winged Hawks (3a, 2j, 1u), 11 adult Red-tailed Hawks (6 light and 4 dark calurus, and 1 dark harlani), 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 light, 1 dark) and a season high 113 Golden Eagles (50a, 4sa, 49j, 10u). Peak hourly movement was 32 (15-1600), 44 (16-1700) and 39 (17-1750) after which the movement abruptly stopped. Other birds were scarce but included 1 juvenile Northern Shrike, 5 American Robins, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 3 Dark-eyed Juncos and 8 Red Crossbills. The 8 visitors to the site were treated to amazing views of dozens of soaring and gliding raptors passing overhead in perfect afternoon light. The weather forecast is calling for winds of up to 100 km/h so tomorrow I shall probably be watching from the west flank of the ridge.

9.25 hours (121.8) BAEA 4 (21), NOHA 1 (11), SSHA 38 (462), COHA 5 (66), NOGO 1 (44), UA 1 (3), BWHA 6 (30), RTHA 11 (147), RLHA 2 (9), GOEA 113 (306) TOTAL 183 (1158)

Steeples [Day 10] (Vance Mattson) The temperature reached 17C, it was calm or light W winds and cloudless skies that proved to almost raptor-less. The only migrants seen were an Osprey at 1410 and a subadult Bald Eagle and a light morph Rough-legged Hawk at 1443. The Rough-legged Hawk perched to consume prey that it had caught before continuing to the south. Non-migrants were also scarce and involved 2 Bald Eagles and adult Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed Hawks.

OSPR 1 (3), BAEA 1 (44), RLHA 1 (2) TOTAL 3 (216)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 14

HOURS 164.8

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 40

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 57

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 11

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 10

Accipiter sp. (UA) 2

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 20

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 6

Buteo sp. (UB) 5

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 527

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 2

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 3

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 694

Wednesday, October 3 [Day 13] (Cliff Hansen, assisted by Jim Davis) 0730-1930. The starting temperature was -5C but rose to a high from 1500 to 1700 of 11C and was 3C at 1900. It was calm to 1000 then light variable but mostly NE light winds for the rest of the day. Ridge winds were also light and also probably NE. On arrival cloud cover was 10% cirrus but gradually increased to 90% altocumulus and cirrus from 1300 to 1600 after which it was 50% for the rest of the day. Observing conditions were good but the first migrant did not appear until 1417, and after 1500 there was a steady stream of migrants that generally moved low above the Fisher Range. The total of 72 migrant raptors of 6 species comprised 3 Bald Eagles (1sa, 2j), 4u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1j Cooper’s Hawk, 1 unidentified small Accipiter, 1 adult dark morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 1 dark morph Rough-legged Hawk, 1 unidentified dark morph Buteo and 60 Golden Eagles (10a, 9sa, 33j, 8u). Thirty-two of the birds moved between 1800 and 1822 with the last bird of the day, a juvenile Golden Eagle going to roost high at the northern end of the Fisher Range. Other birds included a singing Northern Pygmy-Owl, 1 Clark’s Nutcracker and 4 American Robins, and there were 34 visitors to the site including 26 grade 5 students and staff from Langevin School in Calgary.

12 hours (152.8) BAEA 3 (35), SSHA 4 (54), COHA 1 (10), UA 1 (2), RTHA 1 (18), RLHA 1 (5), UB 1 (4), GOEA 60 (351) TOTAL 72 (505)

Vicki Ridge [Day 14] (Peter Sherrington) 0900-1830. Owing to a temperature inversion it was 1C at the base of the ridge but 9C at the ridge-top site where it remained to 1400 when it rose to 10C before falling to 7C at 1730. Winds were light E-ENE all day and it was often calm for extended periods. Cloud cover was initially 30% altocumulus which progressively increased to 100% altostratus at 1500 which persisted for the rest of the day and thickened after 1600 to provide a gloomy end to the proceedings. Despite the light winds there was a fairly strong raptor movement of 106 birds of 9 species that migrated between 1051 and 1648 including season-high counts for Cooper’s Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk and Rough-legged Hawk, although there was only a meagre count of 10 Golden Eagles and no falcons were seen. It was also a bumper day for dark morph Buteos that comprised 54% of that genus. The count was 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa), 23 Sharp-shinned Hawks (13a, 10u), 8 Cooper’s Hawks (6a, 2u), 6 Northern Goshawks (5a, 1j), 1 unidentified small Accipiter, 5 Broad-winged Hawks (4 light morphs: 2a, 2j; and 1 juvenile dark morph), 43 Red-tailed Hawks (19 adult light morph calurus, 23 dark morph calurus (16a, 4j, 3u) and 1j dark morph harlani), 1 adult dark morph Ferruginous Hawk, 5 Rough-legged Hawks (3 light, 2 dark), 2 unidentified dark Buteos and 10 Golden Eagles (4a, 4sa, 1j). There was much soaring flight with kettles involving up to 7 birds, and many birds were seen up to 2 kilometres east of the ridge. Peak movement was 29 between 1100 and 1200, and 31 between 1300 and 1400 and there was a secondary peak of 24 birds between 1500 and 1600. The resident pair of Golden Eagles was in evidence for much of the day with the male displaying at 1422. With the exception of ravens the only songbirds seen on the ridge were 1 Mountain Bluebird, 7 American Robins and 3 Dark-eyed [Oregon] Juncos. There were fresh Bobcat tracks near the site along with those of White-footed Mouse and Least Chipmunk which it was probably hunting.

8.5 hours (112.6) BAEA 2 (17), SSHA 23 (424), COHA 8 (61), NOGO 6 (43), UA 1 (2), BWHA 5 (24), RTHA 43 (136), FEHA 1 (5), RLHA 5 (7), GOEA 10 (192) TOTAL 106 (975)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) NO OBSERVATION

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 13

HOURS 152.8

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 35

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 54

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 10

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 10

Accipiter sp. (UA) 2

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 18

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 5

Buteo sp. (UB) 4

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 351

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 2

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 3

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 505

Tuesday, October 3 [Day 12] (Joel Duncan, assisted by Chris Hunt) 1030-1900. There was 12 cm of fresh snow on the ground and the temperature was -5C when observation began at 1030, which rose to a high at 1700 of 5C and was 0C when observation ceased at 1900. Ground winds and ridge winds were light (<11 km/h) all day, and it was cloudless except around 1600 when 10% cirrus cloud briefly developed. Only 2 migrant raptors were seen: a subadult Golden Eagle that flew low to the south against the Fisher Range at 1603, and an unaged Golden Eagle that glided very high above the Fisher Range 9 minutes later at 1612, and no resident raptors were seen. Other birds were also scarce but included 1 Northern Pygmy-Owl, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 3 American Robins and 1 Song Sparrow. The only thing that was abundant today were visitors of which there were 93 that included 22 students and staff from Western Canada High school in Calgary and 67 from two grade 5 science classes from Langevin School also in Calgary. The dearth of birds was in strong contrast to what was happening 200 km to the south at Vicki Ridge under almost identical weather conditions (see below).

8.5 hours (140.8) GOEA 2 (291) TOTAL 2 (433)

Vicki Ridge [Day 13] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Denise Cocciolone-Amatto and Raymond Toal) 0900-1800. There was 25 cm of fresh snow on the ridge which made for a strenuous ascent. The temperature at 0900 was -8C but it rose under cloudless skies to a high of 5C at 1600 and was 3C at the end of observation. Winds were WSW-W all day, generally light to 1300, but they then gradually increased and peaked at 1800 at 16-20 gusting 26 km/h. Following a complete shut-down of migration on Monday, today produced a fairly robust movement between 1124 and 1729 of 116 migrants of 9 species. The count was 4 Bald Eagles (2sa, 2j), 24 Sharp-shinned Hawks (18a, 2j, 4u), 2 Cooper’s Hawks (1a, 1u), 2 adult Northern Goshawks, 4 light morph Broad-winged Hawks (3a, 1u), 12 Red-tailed Hawks (11 adult calurus: 10 light and 1 dark; and 1 dark juvenile harlani), a season-high 66 Golden Eagles (13a, 15sa, 38j), 1 male American Kestrel and 1 adult male columbarius Merlin. Twenty birds of 8 species moved between 1200 and 1300 but the busiest hour was 1500-1600 when 43 birds were counted but only 2 species were involved: 14 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 29 Golden Eagles. To 1500 most birds moved to the west of the ridge, but subsequently they moved above the ridge with the Golden Eagles often soaring and gliding high in groups of up to 6 birds. The sight of so many juvenile birds moving overhead against an azure sky was an unforgettable experience. Not surprisingly given the snow cover other birds were scarce on the ridge but included 1 Northern Shrike, 2 Clark’s Nutcrackers, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 1 American Robin, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos and 2 Pine Siskins.

9 hours (104.1) BAEA 4 (15), SSHA 24 (401), COHA 2 (53), NOGO 2 (37), BWHA 4 (19), RTHA 12 (93), GOEA 66 (182), AMKE 1 (18), MERL 1 (12) TOTAL 116 (869)

Steeples [Day 9] (Vance Mattson) 1300-1800. The temperature was 7C upon arrival and reached a high of 18C, and it was calm and cloudless. The conditions only produced a disappointing total of 10 migrants that comprised 8 adult Bald Eagles, 1 adult Sharp-shinned Hawk that was the last bird of the day at 1629, and 1 adult Golden Eagle. Six of the Bald Eagles moved together at 1447. Non-migrants consisted of 3 adult Bald Eagles and 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk.

5 hours (40.5) BAEA 8 (43), SSHA 1 (71), GOEA 1 (25) TOTAL 10 (213)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 12

HOURS 140.8

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 32

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 50

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 10

Accipiter sp. (UA) 1

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 17

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 4

Buteo sp. (UB) 3

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 291

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 2

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 3

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 433

Monday, October 2 [Day 12] (George Halmazna) 0730-1230. NO OBSERVATION. Continuous snow with all mountains obscured, a temperature of -3C that rose to -2C at noon, and N winds 10-20 km/h. Two Common Ravens were seen!

Vicki Ridge [Day 13] (Peter Sherrington) NO OBSERVATION. Heavy wet snow all day that completely obscured all ridges.

Steeples (Vance Mattson) NO OBSERVATION

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 11

HOURS 132.3

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 32

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 50

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 10

Accipiter sp. (UA) 1

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 17

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 4

Buteo sp. (UB) 3

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 289

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 2

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 3

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 431

Sunday, October 1 [Day 11] (Blake Weis, assisted by Lori Anderson) 0800-1940. Bill Wilson had the ‘flu so Blake stepped in at short notice and fortunately had a reasonably good day despite the weather conditions. The temperature reached a high of 8C at 1500 from a low of 4C and was 5C at the end of the day. Ground winds were S to 1700 and then SW for the rest of the day, 0-5 km/h to 1500 and afterwards 5-10 gusting 15 km/h, while ridge winds appeared to be light NW to 1500, moderate NW to 1800 after which they were light again. Cloud cover was 80-100% cumulus, altocumulus, stratocumulus and cirrus all day. The eastern ridges were 70-100% obscured to 1400 but were 100% clear by 1800 after which they again clouded over to 20%; the western ridges followed a similar pattern but were 90% obscured by the end of the day. Light rain and snow showers persisted throughout the day with periods of precipitation lasting up to 30 minutes. Not surprisingly light conditions were poor all day. Despite the weather a total of 31 migrants of 7 species were recorded between 1326 and 1846 comprising 4 Bald Eagles (1a, 1sa, 1j, and 1 undifferentiated immature), 1 undifferentiated female/juvenile Northern Harrier , 6u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 adult calurus Red-tailed Hawks (1 light, 1 dark), 1 light morph Rough-legged Hawk, 1 light morph undifferentiated Buteo, 13 Golden Eagles (6a, 1sa, 3j, 3u), 2 Prairie Falcons which were the first of the season and 1 large undifferentiated raptor. Twenty-six of the birds moved between 1326 and 1600. Five birds used the western route and the rest were to the east, only 4 of which were initially located over Lorette and the rest were first seen at the northern end of the Fisher Range from where they travelled close to the ridge as conditions afforded little lift. A non-migrant Sharp-shinned Hawk hunted small songbirds in the meadow and a resident Golden Eagle was seen over Mount Allan to the west. Other birds noted included 210 Canada Geese migrating high over the valley, 1 juvenile Northern Shrike, 1 Blue Jay, 7 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 160 American Robins migrating in flocks of up to 40 birds, 3 American Pipits, 12 Lapland Longspurs, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 1 American Tree Sparrow, 1 Savannah Sparrow, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 White-winged Crossbill and 48 Pine Siskins. A male Moose was close to the site. Because of the weather only 4 visitors made it to the site today.

11.67 hours (132.3) BAEA 4 (32), NOHA 1 (3), SSHA 6 (50), RTHA 2 (17), RLHA 1 (4), UB 1 (3), GOEA 13 (289), PRFA 2 (2), UU 1 (2) TOTAL 31 (431)

Vicki Ridge [Day 12] (Peter Sherrington) 1145-1415 and 1545-1730. It rained and snowed to 1130 and at 1145 I arrived at the well site on the western flank of Vicki Ridge where the temperature was 2C, winds were light and residual cloud still draped the ridges but which quickly cleared. By 1400 the temperature had risen to 6C, winds were light and 100% cloud cover persisted. Despite the clear conditions the only raptor seen was a female American Kestrel that flew to the SW at 1336, and when rain resumed at 1415 I left the site. At around 1530 the clouds partially cleared and sunny breaks had me hurrying back to the site where I arrived at 1545 to find 2 Red-tailed Hawks and a Golden Eagle already soaring high above the ridge. By 1730 I had counted a further 36 migrants of 10 species, 26 of which moved between 1600 and 1700. The last Golden Eagle flapped low to the south just ahead of a rapidly advancing rain front at 1730. The final count was 1 Osprey, 1 adult female Northern Harrier, 9 Sharp-shinned Hawks (6a, 3u), 3 Cooper’s Hawks (2a, 1u), 2 Northern Goshawks (1a, 1j), 1 juvenile dark morph Broad-winged Hawk, 11 Red-tailed Hawks (calurus 9: 7 light adults 1 rufous adult and 1 juvenile dark; and 2 dark adult harlani), 1 light Rough-legged Hawk, 2 unidentified Buteos, 4 Golden Eagles (2a, 2sa), 1 female American Kestrel and 1 female columbarius Merlin. Other birds seen included 20 Canada Geese flying high to the SE, 5 Common Loons that flew high above the ridge towards the west, 92 American Robins including a flock of 80 that flew south above the ridge and 12 Pine Siskins also flying south.

4.25 hours (95.08) OSPR 1 (8), NOHA 1 (10), SSHA 9 (377), COHA 3 (51), NOGO 2 (35), BWHA 1 (15), RTHA 11 (81), RLHA 1 (2), GOEA 4 (116), AMKE 1 (17), PEFA 1 (8) TOTAL 37 (753)

Steeples [Day 8] (Vance Mattson) 1430-1730. Because of a prior commitment Vance did not arrive at the site until 1430 when the ridges were still covered with cloud, but which cleared by 1500. The initial temperature was 12C but dropped to 9C at 1630 when steady rain began to fall. Cloud cover was 70-100% stratus, cumulus and cirrus concentrated along the mountains which allowed sunny conditions for half of the time. A total of 29 raptors of 8 species moved between 1456 and 1629 when rain started to fall, 24 of which were seen between 1500 and 1600. The count was 4 adult Bald Eagles, 3 Northern Harriers (2 adult females, 1u juvenile), 9 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4a, 5j), 1 adult Northern Goshawk, the first Rough-legged Hawk of the season, a dark morph, 8 Golden Eagles (1a, 7j), 2 American Kestrels (1 female, 1 male) and 1u columbarius Merlin. Non-migrants were 4 Bald Eagles (3a, 1j), 2 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks and 1 adult Golden Eagle.

3 hours (35.5) BAEA 4 (35), NOHA 3 (9), SSHA 9 (70), NOGO 1 (6), RLHA 1 (1), GOEA 8 (24), AMKE 2 (8), MERL 1 (2) TOTAL 29 (203)

On Thursday, October 5 I shall be giving a talk in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy of Canada at 1900 at the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre in the Crowsnest Pass. Details of the talk may be found on our website www.eaglewatch.ca. As seating is limited the NCC are asking that those that are interested in registering for the evening talk contact Travis Muir at (403) 512-3152 or Travis.Muir@natureconservancy.ca.

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)

DAYS 11

HOURS 132.3

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 1

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 32

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 3

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 50

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 10

Accipiter sp. (UA) 1

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 1

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 17

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 4

Buteo sp. (UB) 3

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 289

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 2

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 3

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 2

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 2

TOTAL 431