Mount Lorette (05 Oct 2023) 142 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 05, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 6 | 12 | 14 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 29 | 47 | 77 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| American Goshawk | 7 | 10 | 14 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 4 | 9 | 14 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Golden Eagle | 86 | 302 | 459 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 3 | 9 | 27 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Total: | 142 | 413 | 662 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:45:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.58 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Jessica Banas |
Visitors:
Very few people came by the site today, and of those, four were just brief chats and only one stayed for any length of time.
Weather:
The temperature started out at 1C, rose to 9C, and ended at 8C. Clouds started out at 100% coverage with cumulostratus clouds, which gradually broke up into individual cumulus clouds, which in turn gradually gave way to blue sky in the afternoon. Ground winds were strong from the northeast most of the day, with just a couple of hours in the afternoon when they were from the northwest. The wind abated in the late afternoon. Ridge winds were light from the northeast to east in the morning, then became variable from the southwest, before swinging back around to the northeast by the end of the day.
Raptor Observations:
Given the northeast winds at ridge level, not much was expected today. However, birds were flying, although only a few found the secret route that had them gliding high over the east ridge. Most were labouring along the ridge with powered flight, often dropping below tree level before finding a thermal. Many of them came into the east ridge in the middle of the Bumps, low and at a sharp angle. Perhaps the most surprising thing of the day was the number of accipiters, mostly Sharp-shinned Hawks, that seemed to be everywhere. Many of these were flying along the east ridge with the eagles. One particularly annoying one was hunting to the south of the site and kept showing up in our binoculars. Our count of 29 Sharp-shinned Hawks (not including the annoying one), while a high number, pales in comparison with the count on Oct 1, 2015, when the observers that day tallied 98!
The final numbers were 86 Golden Eagles (37a, 8sa, 12j, 2ui, 27u), 6 Bald Eagles (2a, 1ui, 2wb, 1j), 7 Northern Goshawks (4a, 1j, 2u), 29 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4a, 3j, 22u), 3 unknown accipiters, 4 Red-tailed Hawks (1a, 1j, 2u), 2 Merlins, 3 unidentified eagles, and 2 unknown raptors.
Non-raptor Observations:
With so many Sharp-shinned Hawks in the air, it was no surprise that we didn’t see any Bohemian Waxwings today! Other birds were: Canada Goose 2, Ruffed Grouse 4, Downy Woodpecker 1, Black-billed Magpie 1, American Crow 13, Common Raven 5, Black-capped Chickadee 4, Mountain Chickadee 2, American Dipper 1, Lapland Longspur 2, White-crowned Sparrow 1
Predictions:
Moderate southwest winds forecast for the next few days should make for excellent migration conditions for this peak eagle migration period!
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (04 Oct 2023) 94 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 04, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 3 | 18 | 46 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Golden Eagle | 79 | 216 | 367 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 6 | 6 | 24 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Total: | 94 | 271 | 508 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Neil Denton |
| Observers: | Caroline Lambert, Chris Durtnall |
Visitors:
8 visitors, including one – Hazel – who immediately became enamoured with the experience, and added to our overall eagle-spotting capabilities impressively.
Weather:
A sunrise start with a temperature of 7 degrees C, that varied little throughout the day – though the North/North North East winds made it seem noticeably less pleasant than the numbers suggest.
For much of the day, Cumulus and Cirrus were two obvious cloud types, with a 5 minute period of almost undetectable drizzle.
We also had the clouds reducing up until the late afternoon, when we were looking for birds against blue skies.
Ridge winds varied from 5km/h to 27km/h.
Raptor Observations:
A total of 95 migrating raptors were counted as follows: (24AD, 13SA, 13JUV, 0UI, 29U).
In addition, we observed 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 3 Cooper’s Hawk, 1 Northern Goshawk, 1 Broad-winged Hawk, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Rough-legged Hawk
Non-raptor Observations:
We had multiple flocks of Canada Geese, totalling approx 175. 1 resident (?) Goshawk gave us a beautiful fly-by, adding to the good things of the day. 2 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 Belted Kingfisher, three Chickadee species, 2 Canada Jays, 2 Black-billed Magpies, 10 Common Raven, 2 White-crowned Sparrow and 35 Bohemian Waxwing rounded out the day list.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (03 Oct 2023) 59 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 3 | 15 | 43 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 40 | 137 | 288 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Total: | 59 | 177 | 414 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11 hours |
| Official Counter | Annie Finch |
| Observers: | Jessica Banas |
Visitors:
Today was the quietest day Iâve seen since the area was closed. A grand total of 5 people used the path by the site and they all stopped to talk.
Weather:
The morning started out at a frosty -1°C with 60% cloud cover. The temperature rose steadily, peaking at 11°C by 3 pm, and falling to 10°C by sundown. Cirrus and shreds of fog gave way to cumulus clouds as the day warmed up; the ridges were clear all day. Ground winds stayed below15 km/h and were predominantly from the SW. Ridge winds hovered between 10 and 20 km/h out of the west for most of the day.
Raptor Observations:
Raptors moved along the east ridges a few at a time for much of the day. No preferred flight path emerged, with at most two or three birds using the same route in succession. The first Golden Eagles were spotted shortly after 11 am, nine were observed in the 2 pm hour, and the last was spotted just after 6:30 pm. Aging proved particularly difficult today: oblique lighting proved challenging in the morning and early afternoon; excellent light in the late afternoon and early evening revealed little on tightly tucked, gliding birds.
Migrant Eagles 40 Golden Eagles: 7a, 7sa, 3j, 23u 4 Bald Eagles: 1a, 3sa 1 Undifferentiated Eagle
Migrant Raptors 1 Osprey, 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 American Goshawk, 3 Red-tailed Hawks, 3 Merlins, 1 Prairie Falcon, 2 Undifferentiated Raptors (small raptors harassing eagles high above Patrick, probable SSHA or MERL)
Non-migrant Raptors One Sharp-shinned Hawk spent time hunting across the river, and one Red-tailed Hawk flew north past the site.
Non-raptor Observations:
The American Dipper made a few brief appearances today, singing merrily from wet rocks along the river. A small flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Boreal Chickadees, White-crowned Sparrows and one Wilsonâs Warbler foraged along the edge of the meadow.
36 goose sp. 2 Common Merganser 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 2 Black-billed Magpie 40 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 2 Mountain Chickadee 2 Boreal Chickadee 6 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Creeper 1 American Dipper 1 European Starling 9 American Robin 30 Bohemian Waxwing 3 White-winged Crossbill 2 Dark-eyed Junco 2 White-crowned Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow 5 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Wilson’s Warbler
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (02 Oct 2023) 83 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 02, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 8 | 12 | 42 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 70 | 86 | 241 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Total: | 83 | 107 | 354 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Graeme Dunlop |
| Observers: | Rick Robb |
Visitors:
12
Weather:
The start temperature was 0C rising to 11C. The day began with stratus and cumulus clouds covering the sky. The cloud cover decreased early morning and the rest of the day was quite sunny. Ground winds were mostly light SW. Ridge winds were mostly from the southwest and moderate to strong. Thicker dark clouds moved in from the south and west early evening. Observing conditions were good to excellent throughout.
Raptor Observations:
A total of 83 birds of 5 species that comprised 70 Golden Eagles (43a, 5sa, 12 juv, 10u), 1adult Bald Eagle, 2 American Goshawks (1a, 1juv), 8 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1a, 7u), 1 Prairie Falcon and 1 large unidentified falcon. The first 2 Golden Eagles were seen gliding along the Fisher Range just before sunrise as I left the car park. Movement was slow until noon. Between noon and 3pm 46 Golden Eagles were seen. All migrants were seen using the eastern ridges. Before 3pm most of the eagles were first seen around Mt Lorette before gliding across to the Fisher Range. After 3pm we only saw eagles on the bumps or further south at Mt McDougall. I suspect these eagles were approaching the Fisher Range from the north east side. Highlight of the day was scoping a high soaring Golden Eagle only to find it was accompanied by 5 Sharp-shinned Hawks looking tiny as they circled around the eagle.
Non-raptor Observations:
25 Common Ravens, 1 Gull sp., 11 Common Merganser, several flocks of American Robins, 4 Black-billed Magpies, 2 American Pipits, 32 Bohemian Waxwings, 1 Belted Kingfisher, and 2 Canada Jays, 4 Pine Siskin.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
Mount Lorette (01 Oct 2023) 24 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 01, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 4 | 4 | 34 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 16 | 16 | 171 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Total: | 24 | 24 | 271 |
| Observation start time: | 07:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis, Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Blake Weis, Caroline Lambert, Lynette MacCulloch |
Visitors:
Many families and hikers were out on the trails, but only around 15 stopped to inquire about the count.
Weather:
At the beginning of observation the temperature was -1C, it rose to a high of 9, then fell to 7 at the end of the day. Wind was light at ground and ridge level all day, not even exceeding 20 km/h. Clouds covered 10-30% of the sky, but the western ridges were obscured by low cloud for much of the morning.
Raptor Observations:
The count for the day included 16 Golden Eagles (12a, 1juv, 1sa, 2u), 1 adult Bald Eagle, 4 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Merlin and 1 Peregrine Falcon. Movement was slow but it picked up a bit later in the day. 14 of the Golden Eagles and most of the other migrants were seen after 3 pm. Almost all of the migrants used the eastern ridges. Excellent light conditions made identification and ageing relatively easy. The lack of cloud cover would have hindered spotting if the raptors were flying high, but the light wind kept them low. Local raptors included 2 adult Golden Eagles, 1 juvenile American Goshawk, and 1 Red-tailed Hawk.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds in the area, including some seen near the beaver ponds north of the site, were: Canada Goose 70 (Migrating), Ruffed Grouse 3 (2 drumming), Dusky Grouse 4, White-headed Gull sp. 1, Belted Kingfisher 1, Downy Woodpecker 1, Pileated Woodpecker 1, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 15, Canada Jay 6, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Mountain Chickadee 3, Boreal Chickadee 1, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, Brown Creeper 2, American Dipper 1, Townsend’s Solitaire 2, Varied Thrush 1, American Robin 12, Bohemian Waxwing 30, Pine Grosbeak 1, Lapland Longspur 4, Dark-eyed Junco 8, White-crowned Sparrow 4, Lincoln’s Sparrow 1, Blackbird sp. 5 (Distant flock in flight), Yellow-rumped Warbler 4
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
