Mount Lorette (24 Oct 2023) Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 24, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 53 | 55 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 104 | 134 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 27 | 31 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 18 | 23 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 2384 | 2541 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 26 | 44 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Total: | 0 | 2669 | 2918 |
| Observation start time: | 15:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 1.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
None – not even any tracks in the snow of anyone passing by.
Weather:
An attempt, futile as it was, was made today to do an observation. The low clouds and snow from yesterday continued in the morning, but by mid-afternoon the snow had stopped and the clouds lifted a bit. Arriving at the site in the late afternoon, with 10cm fresh snow on the ground and a temperature of -11C, there was blue sky overhead, but clouds were draped over the ridges. Ground winds and ridge winds were low from the northeast. An hour later the clouds were closing in again, and the count was stopped.
Raptor Observations:
No raptors of any kind were seen.
Non-raptor Observations:
A trio of European Starlings appeared to be using the information kiosk as a shelter, and were looking like they’d rather be anywhere else. A skein of 12 Canada Geese were heading south. Only a Hairy Woodpecker seemed happy with the conditions.
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 (23 Oct 2023) 2 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 23, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 53 | 55 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 104 | 134 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 27 | 31 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 18 | 23 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Golden Eagle | 2 | 2384 | 2541 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 26 | 44 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Total: | 2 | 2669 | 2918 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5.75 hours |
| Official Counter | James Bannon |
| Observers: | Theresa Gawron |
Visitors:
About 7 brave hiker souls passed by the site today but none stopped to join us to bask in a glacial facial.
Weather:
We started our morning just after 8am, with periods of light intermittent snow and zero degrees. The cloud line was mid valley with about a 300 meter clearance over our heads. It obscured the peaks in every direction. We stayed until 2 pm, when the snow became heavier with about a 1/2 k of visibility.
Raptor Observations:
We managed to spot two individual adult Golden Eagles at separate times, both moving down the valley from north to south with mostly a slow glide and the occasional flapping. They were easy to spot with the naked eye as they likely were just over the river and below the clouds. As they moved on the falling snow would obscure them from sight.
Non-raptor Observations:
It was reasonably busy with other birds: 9 Ravens – they never seem to mind the weather, 25 Bohemian Waxwings, 15 Pine Grosbeak, 1 Crossbill (sp), 3 Pine Siskin, 1 Gull (sp), 1 Robin, 1 White-crowned Sparrow, 1 White-throated Sparrow, 1 Northern Shrike, 2 American Dipper, 3 Mountain Chickadee, 1 Lapland Longspur, 1 Song Sparrow, 1 Ruffed Grouse. We also watched a Pine Marten, as we wondered if he was going to cross the Kananaskis River. Not a nice day for a swim, although the Dippers loved it and were especially chattery.
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 (22 Oct 2023) 195 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 22, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 7 | 53 | 55 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 104 | 134 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 27 | 31 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 18 | 23 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 6 | 11 | 11 |
| Golden Eagle | 177 | 2382 | 2539 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 26 | 44 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Total: | 195 | 2667 | 2916 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Allison Zukewich |
Visitors:
About five people stopped to chat. Thanks to the three who came to watch migration!
Weather:
In the morning the mountains were draped in low clouds, obscuring all the ridges except for Skogan Pass and Hummingbird Plume Hill. The low cloud remained into the early afternoon, then gradually lifted. Cloud cover was 100% for most of the day, which made ageing difficult given the lack of light. Late in the evening it cleared to 40% creating good conditions for spotting and ageing. Ground wind was from variable directions and light, hardly reaching 10 km/h. Ridge wind was from the SW and light in the morning, but it increased later in the day with gusts reaching 44. The temperature was 2C at the beginning of observation. It reached high of 8, then fell to 6.
Raptor Observations:
The total count for the day was 195 migrants including 177 Golden Eagles (95a, 6j, 13sa, 1ui, 62u), 7 Bald Eagles (5a, 1j, 1sa3), 1 Northern Harrier, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 6 Rough-legged Hawks, and 1 unidentified small accipiter. Migration was slow early in the day, but as clouds started lifting from the mountains, migrants started appearing in the gaps between clouds. Those birds were very difficult to spot and age as they were just briefly seen. When the clouds had mostly cleared movement picked up very quickly culminating in a high count of 64 migrants (including 60 Golden Eagles) between 4 and 5 pm. Many migrants were flying low (below mountain-top height) and often had to resort to flapping. Later in the day some of them found enough wind to make it up higher. One resident American Goshawk was heard calling.
Non-raptor Observations:
93 Canada Geese migrating high, 30 Mallards migrating high, 4 Common Mergansers flying low along the river, 25 gull sp. migrating high, 2 loon sp. migrating high, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 2 Canada Jays, 5 Common Ravens, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 3 Mountain Chickadees, 5 Boreal Chickadees, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 1 American Dipper, 60 Bohemian Waxwings, 3 Evening Grosbeaks, 7 Pine Grosbeaks, 15 Common Redpolls, 1 White-winged Crossbill, 2 Pine Siskins, 8 American Tree Sparrows, 1 White-crowned Sparrow
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 (21 Oct 2023) 217 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 21, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 4 | 46 | 48 |
| Northern Harrier | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 4 | 102 | 132 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 27 | 31 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 17 | 22 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Golden Eagle | 205 | 2205 | 2362 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 25 | 43 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Total: | 217 | 2472 | 2721 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Jessica Banas, Neil Denton |
| Observers: | Caroline Lambert, Dan Parliament, Jessica Banas |
Visitors:
There were 30 visitors throughout the day who stopped by to chat. Thank you to Yumi who spent most of the afternoon with us, spotting many eagles!
Weather:
The weather in the morning was cloudy with some haze, with decent ridge winds, 19-27 km/h from the SW, for some morning bird movement. The haze disappeared by noon and the winds died down for a while as well, 9-21 km/h SW. By early afternoon the cloud cover remained but the ridge winds picked up again, 22-37 km/h primarily from the SW. The temperature started at -2C and reached a high of 11C.
Raptor Observations:
The days total was 217 migrants, including 205 Golden Eagles (92a, 65sa, 13j, 35u), 4 Sharp-shinned Hawks (4u), 4 Bald Eagles (2a, 1su3, 1su1/2), 2 Northern Harrier (1brown, 1u), 1 Red-tailed Hawk (1ad/i), 1 Rough-legged Hawk (1jlm). The eagles starting moving early, the flight lulled through mid-day, and picked up again in the early afternoon. Rain started on the west ridges around 4pm and eventually overtook Mt.Lorette around 6pm. Many of the earlier birds struggled and moved low, often in front of Patrick, but by the afternoon they were often very high along the east ridges. No local raptors were seen during the day.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included: Canada Jay 4, Common Raven 6, Black-capped Chickadee 3, Brown Creeper 2, American Dipper 1, Bohemian Waxwing 3, Pine Grosbeak 3, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 5, Common Redpoll 2, Red Crossbill 6, Pine Siskin 1, Lapland Longspur 1, Canada Goose 16, Trumpeter Swan 24, Common Loon 1
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 (20 Oct 2023) 28 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 20, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 42 | 44 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 98 | 128 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 27 | 31 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 16 | 21 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Golden Eagle | 21 | 2000 | 2157 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 25 | 43 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Total: | 28 | 2255 | 2504 |
| Observation start time: | 07:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Annie Finch |
| Observers: | Ruth Morrow |
Visitors:
17 people stopped to chat about the count (and to exchange cool facts about falcons). We were fortunate to have the assistance of Jock and Krishna for the best hours of the day (best both in terms of migrant raptors and the quality of their company).
Weather:
The morning started out at 6°C, rose to 10°C by 2:00 pm, and fell to 8°C by sundown. Cloud cover was a mix of cirrus and cumulus clouds with some very light spitting drizzle in the afternoon. Ground winds were out of the NE for the entire day, rising from light in the morning to moderate with gusts over 20km/h. In the morning, ridge winds were around 30km/h (gusting to 60 km/h) from the SW; after noon, the winds decreased and shifted to the NE/ENE for the remainder of the count.
Raptor Observations:
The first Golden Eagles of the day appeared over Mt. Collembola shortly after 10:00 am, by which time significant heat distortion was already hindering aging. The abrupt reversal in ridge wind direction between noon and 1:00 pm changed and then halted eagle migration. All migrants were observed using the western ridges up until 1:00 pm. The three Golden Eagles struggling south over the Fisher Range a short time later were the final migrant eagles of the day. Conditions seemed manageable, if not entirely favourable, for migration to continue into the afternoon but no eagles seemed to share my opinion.
Migrant Eagles 21 Golden Eagles: 3a, 2sa, 1j, 15u 2 Bald Eagles: 2a
Migrant Raptors 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk: 2u 1 Cooperâs Hawk: 1j 1 American Goshawk: 1u 1 small falcon
Non-migrant Raptors An adult American Goshawk hunted over the west side of the valley at 10:15 am. An adult Bald Eagle flew north from the site towards Mt. Lorette at 4:30 pm.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other highlights of the day included a Pacific Wren calling along the path in the morning, a Wilsonâs Snipe flying a loop over the site in the middle of the day, and a lone Common Redpoll flitting between willows in the afternoon.
1 Wilson’s Snipe 3 gull sp. 2 Canada Jay 1 Black-billed Magpie 5 Common Raven 1 Mountain Chickadee 2 Boreal Chickadee 7 Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Creeper 1 Pacific Wren 1 American Dipper 1 American Robin 3 Pine Grosbeak 1 Common Redpoll 18 Red Crossbill 2 Pine Siskin 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
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]
