Mount Lorette (03 Oct 2023) 59 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 3 | 15 | 43 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 40 | 137 | 288 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Total: | 59 | 177 | 414 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11 hours |
| Official Counter | Annie Finch |
| Observers: | Jessica Banas |
Visitors:
Today was the quietest day Iâve seen since the area was closed. A grand total of 5 people used the path by the site and they all stopped to talk.
Weather:
The morning started out at a frosty -1°C with 60% cloud cover. The temperature rose steadily, peaking at 11°C by 3 pm, and falling to 10°C by sundown. Cirrus and shreds of fog gave way to cumulus clouds as the day warmed up; the ridges were clear all day. Ground winds stayed below15 km/h and were predominantly from the SW. Ridge winds hovered between 10 and 20 km/h out of the west for most of the day.
Raptor Observations:
Raptors moved along the east ridges a few at a time for much of the day. No preferred flight path emerged, with at most two or three birds using the same route in succession. The first Golden Eagles were spotted shortly after 11 am, nine were observed in the 2 pm hour, and the last was spotted just after 6:30 pm. Aging proved particularly difficult today: oblique lighting proved challenging in the morning and early afternoon; excellent light in the late afternoon and early evening revealed little on tightly tucked, gliding birds.
Migrant Eagles 40 Golden Eagles: 7a, 7sa, 3j, 23u 4 Bald Eagles: 1a, 3sa 1 Undifferentiated Eagle
Migrant Raptors 1 Osprey, 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 American Goshawk, 3 Red-tailed Hawks, 3 Merlins, 1 Prairie Falcon, 2 Undifferentiated Raptors (small raptors harassing eagles high above Patrick, probable SSHA or MERL)
Non-migrant Raptors One Sharp-shinned Hawk spent time hunting across the river, and one Red-tailed Hawk flew north past the site.
Non-raptor Observations:
The American Dipper made a few brief appearances today, singing merrily from wet rocks along the river. A small flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Boreal Chickadees, White-crowned Sparrows and one Wilsonâs Warbler foraged along the edge of the meadow.
36 goose sp. 2 Common Merganser 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 2 Black-billed Magpie 40 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 2 Mountain Chickadee 2 Boreal Chickadee 6 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Creeper 1 American Dipper 1 European Starling 9 American Robin 30 Bohemian Waxwing 3 White-winged Crossbill 2 Dark-eyed Junco 2 White-crowned Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow 5 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Wilson’s Warbler
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]
