Mount Lorette (07 Apr 2025) 16 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 07, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 6 | 62 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 11 | 13 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 13 | 87 | 1025 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 16 | 112 | 1126 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 20:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Lori Anderson |
| Observers: | Peter Lloyd |
Visitors:
15 visitors including Rachelle Gauvin from the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Jim St. Laurent. Thanks to both for your visit and your help!
Weather:
The forecast called for 30% chance of rain all day and indeed, it was a fairly grey day. The sun only popped through the clouds a few times and we were lightly showered with drizzle and windâdriven droplets of rain at intervals throughout the day. The thermometer registered 3C at 9:00 and rose to a high of 11.5C by noon after which it dropped to 11C for the rest of the afternoon. At the end of the count the reading was 9.5. SW ground winds averaged between 5-10 Km/h with gusts up to 20 Km/h. Ridge winds appeared to be moderately strong from the SW all day. Having said all this I must add that the first hours of the morning were calm and, with all the birdsong and prenuptial activity, it felt like a glorious spring morning.
Raptor Observations:
All of the migrating raptors were located between 12:00 and 4:00 pm. The final count was 13 Golden Eagles (1a, 2sa, 3j, 7u), 1 Coopers Hawk, 1 American Goshawk, 1 Red-tailed Hawk. The first migrants appeared very high over the Fisher Range and glided to Lorette then on to Mcgillivray. Later we found most of the eagles coming into Lorette from the east side. Some passed right over top and continued North and others passed in front or behind and continued onward. No flapping was necessary today. It was exceedingly difficult to age the eagles due to the white/grey cloud back-drop, low light conditions and, humidity in the air creating a diffused effect in the telescope. Resident raptors seen were 1 adult Golden Eagle, 2 adult Bald Eagles and, 1 Goshawk.
Non-raptor Observations:
As I walked into the site this morning I came upon a frozen statue of a Ruffed-grouse with his black ruff out. The mate he was trying to entice was up in the tree beside him. He would not budge even as I approached. She eventually flew to the ground, and he wrapped up his show unveiling a full peacock tail before he strutted away following her into the forest. An orchestra of bird sounds filled the air with drumming and singing, buzzing and clucking. The deep wing beats of the Ruffed-Grouse vibrated in my throat. Other players in the orchestra were: 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 1 Hairy woodpecker, 4 Varied Thrush, 1 European Starling, 1 Canada Geese, 5 Dark-eyed Juncos, Robins everywhere, 9 Ravens, 2 Red-winged Blackbirds (not usual to see them here), 3 Mallards, 5 Mountain Bluebirds (3 male, 2 female), 3 Common Mergansers, 1 Northern flicker, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 9 White-tailed deer, 1 Red Squirrel.
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
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