Mount Lorette (11 Oct 2022) 140 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 11, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 33 | 46 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 10 | 39 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 8 | 19 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 8 | 15 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 15 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 128 | 866 | 1021 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 2 | 7 | 13 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 4 | 12 | 16 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Total: | 140 | 980 | 1231 |
| Observation start time: | 07:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Rick Robb |
Visitors:
There were fewer visitors today than previous days, only about a dozen. Four brought binoculars and helped with spotting birds. We are particularly grateful to James Bannon and Theresa Gawron for their expertise in helping out for most of the afternoon.
Weather:
The day’s weather started out looking like last week’s, with no ground wind, frost on the ground, and cloudless blue skies. The temperature started at -2C, rose to a high of 15C, and dropped to 11C at the end. However, while ridge winds varied throughout the day, they were strong and mostly from the southwest, making for good migration conditions. Cumulus clouds built up during the day which aided in spotting the migrants. The clouds showed much turbulence in the air as they were constantly forming and dissipating, and twisting and twirling, generally going rapidly in a south-southeast direction but often appearing to go backwards and sideways.
Raptor Observations:
The turbulence in the air was reflected in the flight paths of the migrants, which were all over the place. Some Golden Eagles were spotted going down the west ridge, which is unusual for fall migration. The count was 1 Osprey (harassed by a Golden Eagle), 128 Golden Eagles (79a, 13sa, 9j, 27u), 3 adult Bald Eagles, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 unid. accipiters and 4 unid. eagles. One adult Bald Eagle was seen heading north on a mission, as if it had just been informed that a large flock of ducks had landed at Barrier Lake.
Non-raptor Observations:
A large flock of about 60 Snow Geese was flying south early in the day. Later a small flock of 3 was seen being chased by a Golden Eagle. They headed north only to find themselves in the path of another Golden Eagle, at which point they descended rapidly and out of sight. A lone loon, presumably a Common Loon, was seen heading south. 14 ravens appeared to be enjoying the turbulent air above the east ridge at one point. Other birds were one Belted Kingfisher, one Northern Shrike, two Canada Jays, two Black-billed Magpies, two Black-capped Chickadees, one Golden-crowned Kinglet, two Red-breasted Nuthatches, two American Dippers, at least two Red Crossbills, a Pine Siskin or more, and two Dark-eyed Juncos.
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 (10 Oct 2022) 198 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 10, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 30 | 43 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 8 | 37 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 8 | 19 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 8 | 15 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 15 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 189 | 738 | 893 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| Unknown Buteo | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 8 | 12 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Total: | 198 | 840 | 1091 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 12 hours |
| Official Counter | Lori Anderson |
| Observers: | Allison Zukewich, Caroline Lambert, Mustafa Onder Ersin |
Visitors:
About 25 visitors stopped to inquire about our activity and a few observers came specifically to help out in sighting the migrants. Thank you for your assistance Jim St. Laurent, Theresa Gawron, and James Bannon.
Weather:
We had a gorgeous fall morning with yellow leaves and a pink and blue sky filled with alluring lenticular cloud formations, making for an immersive experience in color and shapes, and scent. The temperature started at 1C and rose to 17C. The ground winds started out light but picked up after 10:00 and became strong enough to tumble the chairs. After 16:00 the weather turned and some intermittent light rain set in. Ridge winds were strong all day from the SW with gusts reaching 106 Km/h. Lenticular, Cumulous, and Cirrus cloud coverage averaged about 70% Conditions were favorable for migration and produced 198 Raptors.
Raptor Observations:
Todayâs migration started early and was steady all day until 16:00 when the bad weather set in and it slowed down. The first bird was found at 8:05 above the North Fisher Range and the last flew by at 18:41 above Patrick. The early birds seemed to come up from Wasootch to Patrick and then ventured on along the Eastern Ridges. At 09:42 they started appearing at Lorette and for most of the day, they were mainly found extremely high above the Valley Center north. The final count was 189 Golden Eagles (64a, 9sa, 18j, 98u), 3 Bald Eagles, 1 Coopers Hawk, 4 unidentified Buteos, and 1 unidentified Eagle. The majority of todayâs birds were flying very high and the white clouds and haze made ID difficult to impossible.
Non-raptor Observations:
7 Ravens playing on a thermal above Patrick. 12 Crows migrating from Alberta to B.C. 9 American Robins, 25 Canada Geese, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 2 more Common Ravens,1 Clarkâs Nutcracker, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 2 American Dippers. 1 American Tree Sparrow, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, 60 Crossbills sp.
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 (09 Oct 2022) 135 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 09, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 7 | 27 | 40 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 8 | 37 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 7 | 18 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 8 | 15 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 15 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 123 | 549 | 704 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 7 | 11 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Total: | 135 | 642 | 893 |
| Observation start time: | 07:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | David Musto |
Weather:
In typical fashion for this fall count it was warm with a high of 18C and the sky was nearly cloudless. The low in the morning was 0C. The wind was almost non-existent and ground level. At ridge level it was generally light and the direction switched back and forth between NE and SW. There was some haze in the sky to the south but it hardly affected observing conditions. The clear sky did make it difficult to spot the higher and more distant raptors.
Raptor Observations:
Despite poor wind conditions for migration there was a good movement of golden eagles today. It peaked in the early afternoon with 52 migrants between 12:00 and 14:00. There was also a decent late day rush in the last couple hours. The usual pattern in the afternoon was for migrants to show up to the north near Mt. Lorette where they soared and gained plenty of height. They usually lost that height gliding over the valley and disappeared low behind Patrick. Some emerged farther south over the Fisher Range and some didn’t. Other migrants apparently couldn’t find thermals and had to resort to flapping across the valley. Later in the day they were spotted over Patrick and the south portion of the Fisher Range but rarely at Lorette.
Non-raptor Observations:
Mourning cloak butterflies were still out
Other bird observations on eBird: ebird.org/checklist/S120359661
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 (08 Oct 2022) 86 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 08, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 20 | 33 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 6 | 35 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 6 | 17 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 8 | 15 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 14 | 23 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 83 | 426 | 581 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 2 | 7 | 11 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Total: | 86 | 507 | 758 |
| Observation start time: | 06:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.33 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Deb Hornsby |
Visitors:
About 20 people stopped to chat with us. One very helpful and enthusiastic visitor brought a scope and binoculars.
Weather:
Yet another day with cloudless skies and light winds. The temperature was a bit cooler to start than previous days, at -2C, but the sun soon warmed things up and it reached a high of 19C, cooling rapidly to 10C when the sun went behind the west ridge. The ridge winds swung around the compass, going from northwest to northeast to southeast to south. It was only when the ridge winds had built up and were coming from the southwest that the migration picked up.
Raptor Observations:
The first eagles were spotted shortly after 10am. These were using thermals to gain height over Mt Lorette, difficult to see against the blue sky and in slight haze, then flying low along the east ridge, often using powered flight, continuing a pattern from previous days. As the day wore on and the ridge winds strengthened, the eagles were able to maintain the height gained from soaring on thermals over Mt Lorette, and glided quickly along the east ridge without much need for more soaring. The count was 83 Golden Eagles (43a, 10sa, 10j, 20u) and one Sharp-shinned Hawk. Two eagles were unidentified.
One resident adult Golden Eagle was seen hunting near Collembola in the morning, and a Northern Goshawk, presumed resident, flew north down the river in front of us.
Non-raptor Observations:
The Ruffed Grouse was drumming nearly all day. The dipper was conspicuous in his absence, but the Belted Kingfisher put in an appearance again. Other birds were: 2 Common Mergansers, 1 Great Horned Owl, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 Canada Jay, 2 Black-billed Magpies, 5 Common Ravens, 3 Black-capped Chickadees, 1 Mountain Chickadee, 1 Brown Creeper, 1 Varied Thrush, 5 American Robins, and one Purple Finch.
Predictions:
Prediction: a cold front is forecast to come through late Monday. This should result in strong southwest winds and substantial raptor movement over the next few days.
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 (07 Oct 2022) 123 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 07, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 6 | 20 | 33 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 5 | 34 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 6 | 17 |
| Northern Goshawk | 3 | 8 | 15 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 8 | 14 | 23 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 104 | 343 | 498 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Falcon | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Total: | 123 | 421 | 672 |
| Observation start time: | 06:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Graeme Dunlop |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
32. Thanks to Dave Stewart for his excellent assistance.
Weather:
Another warm, clear day. A very slight haze but not as noticeable as the previous day. Some high cirrus clouds appeared in the afternoon. Observing conditions were quite good. Temperatures from 0 degC in the morning to a high of 19 degC. Both ground and ridge winds were calm to light all day.
Raptor Observations:
Eagles first appeared just after midday, soaring over Mt. Lorette before gliding across to the Fisher Range. Decent movement of eagles continued for the rest of the day, apart from a bit of a mid afternoon lull. Many birds were seen soaring high on thermals above Mt Lorette before gliding across the valley where they were able to regain height, soaring on thermals over the east ridge. By later afternoon, they were often able to maintain those heights during the glide across the river valley, traveling at quite high speed south along the Fisher Range without the need for additional soaring. It’s possible there were some high level winds assisting them. At one point a kettle of 10 Golden Eagles formed over N end of Fisher Range (Patrick). 104 Golden Eagles total (47a, 10 juv, 47 u). Other migrants were 3 Northern Goshawk, 8 Red-tailed Hawks, 6 Bald Eagles, 1 unidentified large falcon.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included a Belted Kingfisher, Northern Shrike, Ruffed Grouse.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
