March 18 [Day 17] (Jim Davis, assisted by Ruth Morrow) 0800-1600. Jim and Ruth arrived at 0800 when the temperature was -1C with steady freezing rain that had turned the parking area into an ice-rink which made even standing difficult. All the mountains were obscured (and remained so for the rest of the day) so they left immediately for the Lusk Creek site where they spent the rest of the day just east of the downslope storm. There the temperature reached a high of 7C at 1400 where it stayed until the end of observation. Winds at Lusk were generally light and cloud cover was 100% stratus with the exception of 1100-1200 when 10% of the sky cleared to the NW. Rain and low cloud persisted all day to the west but the Lusk Creek site remained dry and the highest foothills ridge was clear until 1515 when rain and fog finally moved in from the west and the count was abandoned at 1600. There was a fairly strong raptor movement of 64 birds between 0919 and 1414 comprising 7 Bald Eagles (4a, 1sa, 2j), 2 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 54 Golden Eagles (35a, 2sa, 2j, 15u) and the season’s first Gyrfalcon, a white morph bird that was seen at 1158. Most of the birds moved close to the ridge-top beneath the cloud, and the highest hourly count was 36 birds recorded between 1100 and 1200. A Northern Pygmy-Owl called 5 times near the site but could not be located.

8 hours (171.2 BAEA 7 (73), RLHA 2 (18), GOEA 54 (611) GYRF 1 (1) TOTAL 64 (717)

Beaver Mines [Day 21] (Peter Sherrington) 0800-1730. The starting temperature was 6C, rose to a high of 10C at 1200 and 1300 and was 7C at the end of observation. Winds were WSW-W throughout, 40-50 gusting 65 km/h to 1600 after which they moderated slightly to 25-40 km/h, and cloud cover was 100% stratus and cumulus all day with the exception of 0900-0945 when it reduced to 70% producing the day’s only sunny period. Light rain started at 1000 and light to moderate rain then persisted for the rest of the day. The mountain ridges to the SW were obscured all day but the “Big Hill” remained clear until 1700. A total of 29 migrants moved between 1017 and 1556 comprising 1 adult Bald Eagle, 3 adult Northern Goshawks and 25 adult Golden Eagles. Fourteen of the birds were seen between 1100 and 1200 after which the movement became very sporadic. All the birds soared high over the hill in the rain before gliding to the NW, and the last 5 Golden Eagles were seen between 1536 and 1556 after which the rain became heavier and the count was stopped at 1730. The surprise bird of the day was a Wilson’s Snipe that was feeding by a small meltwater stream in the corner of my yard, which is the first March record for the area.

9.5 hours (162.1) BAEA 1 (126), NOGO 3 (20), GOEA 25 (553) TOTAL 29 (766)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) No observation. It rained all day and the ridges were all obscured.

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (March 1 to April 22)

DAYS 17

HOURS 117.2

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 0

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 73

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 0

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 1

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 0

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 0

Accipiter sp. (UA) 0

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 2

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 18

Buteo sp. (UB) 1

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 611

Eagle sp. (UE) 8

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 1

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 1

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 0

Falco sp. (UF) 1

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 0

TOTAL 717

March 17 [Day 16] (Terry Waters, assisted by Diane Stinson, Patrick and Patricia Farley and Cliff Hansen) 0830-1900. The starting temperature was -5C, the high was 4C from 1400 to 1700 and it was 3C at 1900. Ground winds were SE and occasionally SW 10-15 km/h, gusting to 25 km/h at 1300, while ridge winds were moderate SW to 1700 after which they became strong. Cloud cover was 100% altostratus all day that gave hazy sunshine but little warmth. Raptor movement was strong with a season high total of 234 birds moving between 0915 and 1745, comprising 4 adult Bald Eagles, 5 Rough-legged Hawks of undetermined morph, a season high 224 Golden Eagles (139a, 9sa, 11j, 65u) and 1 large unidentified falcon that flew north at 1540. All the birds moved high from the northern end of the Fisher Range to Mount Lorette apart from the last 7 birds that originated in the Wasootch Creek area, and there was very little soaring flight. Twenty migrants (19 Golden Eagles) were seen in the morning and the hourly Golden Eagle counts in the afternoon were 20, 47, 52, 32, 27 and 28 (1700-1745). Other birds were scarce but included 10 American Robins and a northward bound flock of 54 Bohemian Waxwings. There were 37 visitors to the site including 29 grade 12 students and staff from Crescent Heights HS in Calgary.

10.5 hours (163.2) BAEA 4 (66), RLHA 5 (16), GOEA 224 (557), UF 1 (1) TOTAL 234 (653)

Beaver Mines [Day 20] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Denise Cocciolone-Amatto) 0800-1900. The temperature was -4C at 0800 but steadily climbed to a high of 7C at 1400 where it remained to 1800 before dropping to 5C T 1900. Winds were light all day, SW-W to 1300, variably S to E to 1800 after which they were WSW. Cloud cover was a uniform blanket of 100% altostratus all day with minor amounts of superimposed altocumulus and cumulus that only thinned after 1800, and all ridges were clear all day. Movement was painfully slow with the first birds not appearing until 1108 and by 1500 only 12 migrants had been seen. The pace then picked up a little with 16 more birds moving to 1700 after which there was a strong movement of Golden Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks that soared very high over a broad front in kettles of up to 10 birds, some of which simply vanished from view against the grey stratus cloud. Forty-five of the day’s 73 raptors were seen between 1704 and 1845 including 28 Golden Eagles and 13 Rough-legged Hawks. The light and variable wind conditions produced a broad-front migration and it is probably that many birds were simply too high to see. Golden Eagles also probably moved in significant numbers along the mountain ridges to the SW where the winds were more conducive to movement. Denise watched the Livingstone Ridge at Frank for 20 minutes between 1611 and 1631 and saw 1 juvenile Bald Eagle and 22 Golden Eagles (20a, 2sa) that kettled high above the ridge before gliding to the north. The count at Beaver Mines was 5 Bald Eagles (4a, 1j), 4 adult Northern Goshawks, 1 adult dark morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 15 Rough-legged Hawks (14 light, 1 dark), I unidentified dark Buteo, 45 Golden Eagles (44a, 1sa) and 2u columbarius Merlins.

11 hours (152.6) BAEA 5 (125), NOGO 4 (17), RTHA 1 (6), RLHA 15 (37), UB 1 (1), GOEA 45 (528), MERL 2 (10) TOTAL 73 (737)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) [Day 6] 1045-1815. The temperature was 0C at the start of observation, rose to a high of 8C and was 6C at 1800. The winds were moderate E-NE and calm to light after 1430 which was conducive to soaring and flapping flight against a persistent uniform grey-white altostratus cloud cover. The final count of 147 migrants equaled the previous high site count of March 18, 2010 and comprised 12 Bald Eagles (10a, 2j), a site record 133 Golden Eagles (130a, 2sa, 1j), 1 unidentified eagle and 1 adult male columbarius Merlin that was the first bird of the day at 1121. Only 3 eagles moved before 1200, but 41, including37 Golden Eagles, were seen between 1221 and 1300, followed by 51 eagles (5 Bald and 46 Golden) during the following hour. Twenty-seven eagles (26 Golden) moved between 1400 and 1500 followed by 17 (15 Golden) between 1500 and 1600. The last 2 hours saw a further 7 migrants (6 Golden) with the last bird, a Golden Eagle, moving at 1756. Many of the eagles soared over the SE hill of Bull Mountain before moving steadily to the north above the ridge at medium to high altitudes. The largest soaring kettle was 11 eagles at 1236 although several smaller kettles of 5 to 8 birds were seen.

7.5 hours (24.5) BAEA 12 (49), GOEA 133 (203), UE 1 (3), MERL 1 (1) TOTAL 147 (257)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (March 1 to April 22)

DAYS 16

HOURS 163.2

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 0

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 66

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 0

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 1

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 0

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 0

Accipiter sp. (UA) 0

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 2

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 16

Buteo sp. (UB) 1

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 557

Eagle sp. (UE) 8

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 1

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 0

Falco sp. (UF) 1

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 0

TOTAL 653

March 16 [Day 15] (Cliff Hansen, assisted by Rick Robb) 0950-2020. Joel Duncan was the designated Principal Observer today but his car skidded off the highway in heavy snow near Barrier Lake as he was driving to the site. Fortunately he was not hurt but his car had to be towed to Canmore for repair. Rick arrived at the Hay Meadow at 0950 just as the heavy snowfall was moderating, and Cliff reached the site at 1430. The temperature at 1000 was -2C, reached a high of 4C at 1700 and was 0C at the end of observation. It was calm in the valley to 1200 after which light 5-10 km/h W-SW winds developed that reached 15 km/h around 1500; ridge winds were moderate W to 1700, strong to 1900 and then moderate again for the rest of the day. Heavy snow fell to 1000 after which it gradually tapered off and finally ceased around 1300. All ridges were obscured to 1200 after which the east began to clear and was free of cloud cover by 1400, while the west was 20-40% obscured for the rest of the day. The first bird of the day was the season’s first Sharp-shinned Hawk, an unaged bird, at 1225 and as the Fisher Range cleared a reasonably strong raptor movement developed with a total of 64 birds of 5 species moving before 1957. The count was 2 adult Bald Eagles, 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 juvenile rufous (“intermediate”) morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, a season high 7 Rough-legged Hawks (3 light, 1 dark, 3u) and 52 Golden Eagles (36a, 1sa, 15u). All birds glided high from the Fisher Range to Mount Lorette to 1700 after which they were initially located over Mount Lorette having presumably originated from the Wasootch Creek area. The highest hourly count was 1600-1700 with 29 migrants of which 25 were Golden Eagles, and 18 birds (17 Golden Eagles) moved late between 1900 and 1957. Single adult resident/non-migrant Bald Eagle, Northern Goshawk and Golden Eagle were also noted. Two sparrows were present that could not be identified under the snow conditions at the time, a single Bighorn Sheep was on Olympic Summit and a herd of 13 Elk occupied the valley floor. Also notable this season has been the almost total lack of Snowshoe Hare tracks in the area.

12.5 hours (152.7) BAEA 3 (62), SSHA 1 (1), RTHA 1 (2), RLHA 7 (11), GOEA 52 (333) TOTAL 64 (419)

Beaver Mines [Day 19] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Denise Cocciolone-Amatto) 0800-1900. The temperature at 0800 was 4C, reached a high of 8C at 1100 and then gradually decreased throughout the day and reached a low of 0C at 1900. Winds were mainly W-WSW all day 30-45 gusting up to 67 km/h. Cloud cover was 10-30% cumulus to 1100 after which it increased to 50-70% cumulus to 1325 and then was essentially 100% stratus for the rest of the day. Light snow fell between 1506 and 1540 and again from 1500 to 1715 that periodically briefly obscured the ridge, and persistent heavy snow started at 1815 that obscured the ridge for the rest of the observation period. It was another good day of raptor migration with a total of 153 birds of 8 species moving between 0821 and 1811. The flight comprised 18 Bald Eagles (15a, 1sa, 2j), 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1a, 1u), 3 adult Northern Goshawks (2 male, 1u), 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 4 Rough-legged Hawks (3 light, 1 dark), 120 Golden Eagles (116a, 2sa, 2u), 1 unidentified eagle, 3 columbarius Merlins (2 males, 1u) and 1 Prairie Falcon. Movement was steady to 1400 after which the pace quickened and peaked at 33 migrants between 1700 and 1800 as birds tried to cover as much distance as they could before the snow finally closed in. A total of 116 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches flew high to the north in 4 flocks, which were the first seen from the site this year.

11 hours (141.6) BAEA 18 (120), SSHA 2 (3), NOGO 3 (13), RTHA 1 (5), RLHA 4 (22), GOEA 120 (483), UE 1 (1), MERL 3 (8), PRFA 1 (3) TOTAL 153 (664)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) 1615-1715. The weather was rain and overcast with obscured ridges all week and only cleared today at 1430. The temperature was 7C although a moderate SE wind made it feel much cooler, cloud cover was 50% cumulus altostratus and cirrus, and the ridges were clear. Observation was from the South Lakit site where snow on the roads is still making access difficult. On arrival there were already 5 eagles soaring over Lone Peak, after which they moved to the north and the other 5 eagles followed the same pattern at 1645. There was much interaction between the migrating Bald Eagles including diving, barrel-rolling and chasing. The count was 6 Bald Eagles (4a, 2j) and 4 adult Golden Eagles. A non-migrant Turkey Vulture and a displaying resident adult Golden eagle were also present.

1 hour (17) BAEA 6 (37), GOEA 4 (70), TOTAL 10 (110)

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (March 1 to April 22)

DAYS 15

HOURS 152.7

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 0

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 62

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 0

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 1

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 0

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 0

Accipiter sp. (UA) 0

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 2

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 411

Buteo sp. (UB) 1

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 333

Eagle sp. (UE) 4

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 1

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 0

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 0

TOTAL 419

March 15 [Day 14] (Blake Weis, assisted by Caroline Lambert) 0745-1310 (Hay Meadow), 1340-1850 (Barrier Lake Dam). The temperature at 0745 was 1C and the high was 5C at 1200 and 1300. Ground winds were mainly S 0-5 km/h to 1000 then 5-10 gusting 15 km/h, while at the Barrier Lake dam they were 10-15 gusting 25 km/h. Ridge winds were light S-SW to 1100 and then moderate to strong for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was 100-80% stratus at Hay Meadow and 50-90% stratus at Barrier Lake. The eastern ridges were 60-100% obscured to 1310 and light to moderate rain fell continuously. At 1310 the observers decided that they were wet enough and decided to relocate to the dam at the northern end of Barrier Lake which was just beyond the rain front. At the Hay Meadow site the first Golden Eagle was seen at 1051 and before the site was abandoned 13 Golden Eagles (7a, 2j, 4u) were recorded, most of which were seen over Mount Lorette and only 1 at the northern end of the Fisher Range. At Barrier Lake the count was 2 adult Bald Eagles, 16 Golden Eagles (8a, 1sa, 1j, 6u) and 4 unidentified eagles that were moving to the NW from the highest foothills ridge. These were birds that would normally have been seen from the nearby Lusk Creek site. Other birds seen at Hay Meadow were 2 Grey Jays, 14 Common Ravens, 4 Mountain Chickadees , 2 Boreal Chickadees, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch and 1 American Dipper.

11 hours (140.2) BAEA 2 (59), GOEA 29 (281) UE 4 (8) TOTAL 35 (355)

Beaver Mines [Day 18] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Denise Cocciolone-Amatto) 0800-1900. The temperature at 0800 was 7C, rose to a high of 11C at 1000 and 1100, and was again 7C at 1900 when observation ceased. Winds were WSW-W all day 30-50 gusting up to 63 km/h, but dropped below 40 km/h for the last 2 hours. Cloud cover was 70-100% altostratus, cumulus and altocumulus for most of the day with the exception of 1500 and 1600 when it thinned to 40-60%, that gave excellent observing conditions all day. There was a strong raptor movement with a season high 178 migrants of 8 species moving between 1030 and 1855 The count was 13 Bald Eagles (12a, 1j), 1u Northern Goshawk, 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk (which was the last bird of the day at 1855), 5 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, a season high 154 Golden Eagles (152a, 1sa, 1j), 2 columbarius Merlins (1 adult female and 1u), 1 adult, probable male, grey morph Gyrfalcon and 1 Prairie Falcon. The main movement was between 1100 and 1400 when 95 birds were seen, with a high hourly count of 48 birds (4 Bald and 44 Golden Eagles) between 1200 and 1300. Movement then slowed but remained steady over the next 3 hours and picked up again at the end of the day with 19 birds moving between 1700 and 1800 and 25 between 1800 and 1855. The total of 178 is the third highest at the site after the 463 (429 Golden Eagles) counted on March 19, 2005 and the 197 (156 Golden Eagles) counted on the following day. A male Mountain Bluebird at 1236 was the first for the year.

11 hours (130.6) BAEA 13 (102), NOGO 1 (10), RTHA 1 (4), RLHA 5 (18), GOEA 154 (363), MERL 2 (5), GYRF 1 (4), PRFA 1 (2) TOTAL 178 (511)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) No observation.

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (March 1 to April 22)

DAYS 14

HOURS 140.2

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 0

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 59

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 0

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 0

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 0

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 0

Accipiter sp. (UA) 0

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 1

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 4

Buteo sp. (UB) 1

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 281

Eagle sp. (UE) 4

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 1

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 0

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 0

TOTAL 355

March 14 [Day 13] (Brian McBride, assisted by Fred Bowen and Cliff Hansen) 0745-1815. It was a warm day with the temperature reaching a high of 8C at 1500 and 1600 from a starting low of -1C and it was 5C at the end of observation. Ground winds were SW 5-15 gusting up to 25 km/h in mid-afternoon, and ridge winds were moderate SW all day. Cloud cover was 100% stratus to 1300 when the cloud lowered obscuring all the ridges and bringing rain to 1330, after which it quickly cleared to 50-70% cumulus and altostratus for the rest of the day. Despite these apparently favourable conditions the only migrant raptor seen was an unaged Bald Eagle that flew high to the NW from Mount Lorette at 1140. Low thick cloud was observed on the mountains to the south of the site all day which may have blocked the movement of raptors. Other birds were also scarce and included 1 Ruffed Grouse and 1 European Starling that was presumably the survivor of the previous day’s Pygmy-Owl attack. Two visitors were at the site today.

10.5 hours (129.2) BAEA 1 (57), TOTAL 1 (329)

Beaver Mines [Day 17] (Peter Sherrington, assisted by Denise Cocciolone-Amatto) 0800-1830. The temperature was 4C at 0800, reached a high of 9C at 1400 and 1500 and was still 8C at 1830. Winds were mainly WSW all day, 10-30 km/h in the morning but increased to 20-40 gusting to 70 km/h in the afternoon. Cloud cover was 100% altostratus to 1330 when it quickly diminished to 20% cumulus to 1450 when it again thickened to 100% altostratus and cumulus for the rest of the day. With the exception of the Continental Divide ridges were clear all day. There was again a fairly strong raptor movement with 73 birds of a season high 8 species migrating between 1019 and 1758. The flight comprised 16 Bald Eagles (11a, 2sa, 3j), the season’s first Northern Harrier, an adult female, 2 Northern Goshawks (1a, 1u), 1 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk, 2 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, 47 Golden Eagles (46a, 1sa), 2 adult columbarius Merlins (1 male, 1 female) and 2 adult female Gyrfalcons (1 grey morph and 1 white morph). The Merlins moved within 2 minutes of each other and may have been migrating as a pair; the white Gyrfalcon passed low directly overhead at 1528. Birds moved steadily throughout the day with a maximum hourly movement of 18 between 1400 and 1500. An adult California Gull flying to the north at 1447 was the first for the season.

10.5 hours (119.6) BAEA 16 (89), NOHA 1 (1), NOGO 2 (9), RTHA 1 (3), RLHA 2 (13), GOEA 47 (209), MERL 2 (3), GYRF 2 (3) TOTAL 73 (333)

Steeples (Vance Mattson) No observation.

MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (March 1 to April 22)

DAYS 13

HOURS 129.2

TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 0

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 57

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 0

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 0

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 0

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 0

Accipiter sp. (UA) 0

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 0

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 0

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 1

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 0

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 4

Buteo sp. (UB) 1

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 252

Eagle sp. (UE) 4

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 0

MERLIN (MERL) 1

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 0

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 0

Falco sp. (UF) 0

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 0

TOTAL 320