Mount Lorette (03 Oct 2022) 47 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 7 | 10 | 23 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 2 | 31 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 37 | 140 | 295 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Total: | 47 | 170 | 421 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11 hours |
| Official Counter | Lori Anderson |
| Observers: | Mustafa Onder Ersin, Sandy Graham |
Visitors:
38 Visitors Some brought their own binoculars and located a few of the eagles.
Weather:
The day started out on the chilly side and, once again, temperatures rose quickly when the sun rose. The temperature range went from 2C to 21.5. The sky was clear all day with a few small cumulus clouds but there was a humid haze in the sky, which made the eagles magically disappear as if they were using an invisibility cloak. Ground winds were absent at times and low throughout most of the day from calm to 15km/H. After 2 pm, the SW ridge winds picked up and so did the migration.
Raptor Observations:
We found the first Golden Eagle at 9:40 at Lorette, and quite soon after that, two Taiga Merlins came rushing down to hunt a Belted Kingfisher. Most of the Raptors today took the Skogan pass- Lorette- Patrick- Fisher North route. As the winds picked up, the eagles found height soaring on thermals at Lorette, and crossing very high over the valley to the eastern ridges. The most active period was between 3-4 pm with 12 raptors. Totals: Golden Eagles 37 (22a,3sa,9j,3 not defined), Bald Eagles 7 (4a,1sa,2 not defined), Northern Harrier 1 (female or Juv.), Merlin 2 (1male, 1 female or juv.).
Non-raptor Observations:
2 Common Loons, 75 American Robins, 19 Canada Geese, 5 Red-breasted Merganser, 4 Black-billed Magpie, 12 Common Ravens, 3 Black-Capped Chickadees, 1 American Crow, 1 Clarkâs Nutcracker, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 American Dipper.
Red squirrels chattered off in the distance and many butterflies floated around. There was one really determined white butterfly whose fast flight reminded me of a small bird. Beware of some very vicious small fly-like insects that bite the heck out you. They are brown and gold with a red triangle on the shoulder.
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 2022) 45 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 02, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 2 | 31 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 37 | 103 | 258 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Total: | 45 | 123 | 374 |
| Observation start time: | 06:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Glenn Webber |
Visitors:
50 visitors came out to Hay Meadow, 4 brought binoculars and helped spot migrants.
Weather:
Once again it was a clear and warm day with a high of 19C and a low of 1C. Wind was light to moderate from the NNE at valley bottom and ridge level.
Raptor Observations:
The first three eagles were soaring over the Fisher Range around 8:30 AM. They were most likely roosting somewhere nearby and had just lifted off to start their day’s journey. The distribution of migrants was “lumpy” through most of the day, with short burst of activity separated by slow periods. It did pick up later as we had a decent movement in the last couple hours.
The lack of cloud cover made spotting birds difficult, though some cumulus late in the day helped. The wind wasn’t favorable for migration which had most migrants moving low and mainly soaring. Possibly because of the NNE wind, eagles seemed to be using the east side of the Fisher Range, often passing behind peaks or only popping into view briefly. A few hawks and Bald Eagles used the western ridges or flew down the valley.
Resident raptors included an adult Bald Eagle and an Immature Northern Goshawk
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds on eBird: ebird.org/checklist/S119879010
A mink was seen near the river in the morning. Red squirrels were very active. Several species of butterfly were still out including western white, mourning cloak, milbert’s tortoiseshell and grey comma
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Mount Lorette (01 Oct 2022) 78 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 01, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Northern Goshawk | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 66 | 66 | 221 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Unknown Buteo | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Total: | 78 | 78 | 329 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.42 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | David Musto |
Visitors:
As usual for a Saturday, many people walked by the site, but only about 25 actually stopped to learn about the count. One visitor brought binoculars and a scope and helped us spot for a couple of hours.
Weather:
The temperature ranged from an almost frosty 3C to an unseasonably warm 20C, falling to 11C at the end of the day. Ground winds were light, as were the ridge winds, but there must have been some stronger winds higher up, as the raptors were moving quite quickly once they had soared to a height well above ridge level. The sky started out clear, but fortunately for us a few cumulus clouds sat over the east ridge all afternoon, allowing for better spotting of those high flying birds. By the time we left, the clouds had dissipated.
Raptor Observations:
For the first time in several days there was good raptor movement. Most birds were spotted high over the east ridge – a few seemed to come up from behind the ridge and soared quickly to gain altitude. Some appeared to have gained altitude to the north and flew over our heads to the east ridge – we never did spot where those came from. The flight comprised of 3 Ospreys, 66 Golden Eagles (37a, 9sa, 8j, 12u), 3 Northern Goshawks, 1 adult Bald Eagle, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 2 small accipiters and one unidentified eagle.
Besides the migrants, there were 2 sightings of a Golden Eagle hunting over Skogan Pass, and 2 resident Northern Goshawks.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds were 3 Common Mergansers, 2 Belted Kingfishers, 1 Northern Shrike, 1 Canada Jay, 3 Common Ravens, 3 Mountain Chickadees, 1 Brown Creeper, 1 American Dipper (Tom), and 5 American Robins.
Report submitted by Caroline Lambert (caroline144@gmail.com)
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 (30 Sep 2022) 16 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 30, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 13 | 13 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 29 | 29 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 11 | 11 |
| Northern Goshawk | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 7 | 155 | 155 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Raptor | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Total: | 16 | 251 | 251 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.67 hours |
| Official Counter | Annie Finch |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch, Rosemary Power |
Visitors:
28 people stopped to chat, including many children.
Special thanks to Dave Stewart for all his help today.
Weather:
The clouds threatened rain for most of the morning, but did not follow through. The temperature rose from a comfortable 6C in the morning to a warm-if-you-are-in-the-sun 15C. The wind was uncharacteristically calm and stayed stubbornly from the northeast. The near-constant cloud cover provided favourable spotting conditions, though lighting was mostly poor.
Raptor Observations:
The conditions proved slightly more productive than the previous few days with a total of 16 migrant raptors, 7 of which were Golden Eagles.
Resident/Non-migratory Raptors: Bald Eagle (1a) Northern Goshawk (1a)
Non-raptor Observations:
We were treated to a number of great birds today including a Northern Shrike (an honorary raptor), Clarkâs Nutcracker, Swamp Sparrow, Townsendâs Solitaire, Varied Thrush, and two American Dippers (Tom serenaded us for a while from the riverbank).
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 (29 Sep 2022) 4 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 29, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 12 | 12 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 27 | 27 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 148 | 148 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 4 | 235 | 235 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch, Rick Robb |
Visitors:
10 visitors came by, including four with binoculars who wanted to help spot migrating eagles. We were sorry to disappoint them, but it was obvious that the weather was not cooperating. A female Belted Kingfisher fishing in the river provided some consolation.
Weather:
With cloudy skies most of the day, the temperature stayed in a narrow range, starting at 8C, and ending at 13C. There was very little wind at any level, ground, ridge, or high. The light ridge winds were mostly from the northeast, which is never very good for finding migrating eagles. Cloud cover was initially 100% altocumulus and altostratus, leaving the ridges clear and giving some hope that we’d see something. However, the clouds gradually lowered, and a soaking rain shower hit us around noon. There was a brief break in the clouds and the sun shone in mid-afternoon, again giving us hope for seeing some migrants, but after the clouds closed in again and rain started to fall at 1630 with continuing rain forecast, we abandoned the count for the day.
Raptor Observations:
In spite of the conditions, a few migrants were seen, although sadly no Golden Eagles. A Merlin flew up the river quickly in the morning. In the afternoon we saw a Northern Harrier, a juvenile Bald Eagle, and a Cooper’s Hawk all making their way south along the west side of the valley.
Non-raptor Observations:
Some of the smaller birds were more active today, including a Swamp Sparrow hiding in the willows, teasing us by calling constantly but giving us only very brief glimpses. Kinglets were numerous – 7 Ruby-crowned and at least 4 Golden-crowned. All three species of chickadee came by, accompanying the kinglets (2 Black-capped, 1 Mountain, 2 Boreal). 6 or more Red-breasted Nuthatches were making a fuss along the path. In addition to those there were 4 American Robins, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos, 2 Common Ravens, one Northern Flicker, 2 Belted Kingfishers (one male, one female), and the Ruffed Grouse serenaded us with his drumming as we left.
Report submitted by Caroline Lambert (caroline144@gmail.com)
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]
