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.
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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]
