Mount Lorette (03 Nov 2025) 57 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 03, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 4 | 72 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 198 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 43 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Golden Eagle | 53 | 77 | 2282 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Total: | 57 | 82 | 2720 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Lori Anderson |
| Observers: | Bill McKeeman |
Visitors:
About 9 people stopped by. A group of 3 had their own binoculars and were assisted in locating the eagles.
Weather:
At the start of the count, the temperature was 0 C, gradually rising to 3.6 C by 14:00 and dropping to 1.5 C by the end of the day. Ground winds were low from the SW with a few gusts up to 10 Km/h. At around 2:30, the wind shifted to the NW. The ridge winds from the SW/WSW were also quite low, averaging 18 km/h for the observational period. Cloud coverage was mostly 100 % for the whole day with Altocumulus, Altostratus and some Cirrus and Lenticular formations later in the afternoon. All ridgelines remained clear throughout the day.
Raptor Observations:
The first eagle of the day came from the McGilvery range and passed behind the peak of Mount Lorette. It continued on to Patrick, gliding low and flapping at times, then along the typical route over the Fisher Range. Most of the birds were found above Patrick or flew low directly into the face of Patrick from the north and then on to the Fisher range. It was easy to age the birds as they flew below the ridge line. The Ravens provided their usual unfriendly escort service through the valley. On several occasions, eagles were observed diving aggressively towards them. The final count was: Golden Eagles 53: 37a, 4sa, 11u, 1 ui, Bald Eagles 3, Accipiter 1. From 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, we observed a steady but slow pace of about 11 to 12 birds per hour.
Non-raptor Observations:
The first birds to appear this morning were 9 Ravens in convocation, no doubt plotting their mischief for the day. Other birds seen were two Canada Jays. One Black-billed magpie. One Belted Kingfisher. A flock of 18 Canada geese. 80 Pine Siskins in 3 flocks. Numerous Bohemian Waxwings.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
