Mount Lorette (05 Mar 2023) 3 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 05, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 3 | 10 | 10 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Annie Finch |
| Observers: | Allison Zukewich, Caroline Lambert |
Visitors:
Everyone stopped to chat; our presence in such wintery conditions must have been intriguing. Special mention goes out to visitors Chloe and Liam, come back any time!
Weather:
The temperature rose from -13 C in the morning to -9 C in the afternoon, finally falling to -11 C by sundown. Low cloud and poor ridge visibility delayed the start of the count until 9 am. Spindrift off Mounts Patrick, McDougall, and Kidd revealed strong ridge winds from the NE in the morning coming around to the south by the end of the day. Despite these higher level changes, ground winds in the valley stayed stubbornly from the north. We were grateful to have shelter from the wind. Snow fell from the sky for the entire day, though at times it seemed to be crystallizing from the clear, humid air near ground level.
Raptor Observations:
As expected given the NE winds, raptor migration was minimal. Three eagles were observed between 1 and 2 pm, all flying low in front of Mt. Patrick, seemly struggling with turbulence and lack of lift. The first eagle resisted identification and remained undifferentiated. Two other eagles were spotted over the rest of the hour, one adult Bald Eagle and an additional Bald Eagle which remained unaged.
Non-raptor Observations:
It was also a slow day for non-raptors. Chickadees (Mountain, Boreal, and Black-capped) and Nuthatches (Red- and White-breasted) made themselves known along the path into the site in the morning. They were joined by a Hairy Woodpecker and two White-winged Crossbills. Later in the day a male Belted Kingfisher patrolled his patch of open water along the river.
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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]
