Mount Lorette (05 Apr 2023) 40 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 05, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 6 | 15 | 101 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Goshawk | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 33 | 140 | 1579 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 40 | 161 | 1714 |
| Observation start time: | 06:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 13.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Annie Finch |
| Observers: | Monica Draosz |
Visitors:
About a dozen people stopped at the site to chat. We enjoyed the company and assistance of a lovely guest observer from Canmore.
Weather:
The morning was crisp and bright at -12C with no wind and only shreds of low cloud. The winds increased gradually coming around from the west to the southeast. Scattered cumulus clouds covered ~20% of the sky throughout the day which made for favourable observing conditions. The air temperature rose to 2C by 6pm, though the wind ensured it felt colder than the morning. By sunset the temperature had fallen back to 0C and the winds had died down.
Raptor Observations:
Raptors trickled through the valley all day, rarely repeating a route. Some passed high over the eastern valley almost directly overhead (far too high for the scope). For the last few hours before sunset all the Golden Eagles popped up level with the Pyramid, passed slowly in front of Lorette (teetering like Turkey Vultures), emerging above the Beehive, and slipped behind Lorette. Fortunately, their slow movement across the rock face and the golden light of the sunset made for the best aging opportunities of the day. The last eagle was spotted near official sunset.
Migrant Raptors: 33 Golden Eagles (24a, 1s, 1j, 7u), 6 Bald Eagles (3a, 2si/ii, 2siii), 1adult Northern Goshawk.
Non-migrant Raptors: the resident Northern Goshawk pair were vocal in the morning and evening and appeared a few times over the western valley soaring and displaying. An adult Bald Eagle spent time discovering new places to gain lift and patrolled up and down the river extensively. One of the resident Golden Eagles was also observed patrolling and appeared to encourage a subadult Golden Eagle to continue its migration.
Non-raptor Observations:
A handful of foraging Golden-crowned Kinglets were enchanting company on the walk in to the site in the morning. An adult Northern Shrike commanded the meadow for much of the day, leading to rewarding rounds of âspot the snowballâ for observers. Varied Thrush, American Robin, Mountain Chickadee, and Dark-eyed Junco sang through the day. An American Pipit made multiple eponymous pronouncements.
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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]
