Mount Lorette (07 Mar 2025) 24 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 07, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American 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 | 19 | 26 | 26 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 24 | 34 | 34 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.1 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis, Sofia Preece |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
46 people stopped to talk, including a few tour groups. Thanks to Cliff, Kevin and Ed for stopping to spot migrants!
Weather:
The temperature was -2 C at the start of observation. It rose to a high of 7 in the afternoon, then fell to 5 as we were leaving. Ground wind was nearly calm in the morning, but it picked up in the afternoon with gusts around 30 km/h from the S-SW. Ridge wind was moderate to strong from the WSW. Cloud cover was around 10% in the morning, but increased later in the day to nearly 100%. Conditions for spotting and identification were good most of the time.
Raptor Observations:
The count for the day was 19 Golden Eagles (13 adults & 6 unaged) and 5 Bald Eagles (4 adults & 1 sub-adult 1). All of them used the eastern ridges. Movement was sporadic without a noticeable peak. The last Golden Eagle perched near the summit of Mt. Lorette for a while before moving on. One young Golden Eagle (a juvenile or sub-adult 1) seemed to be migrating along the Fisher Range at first, but then it flew west across the valley before turning back south. That bird was considered to be non-migrant since it seemed to be cruising around looking for food rather than actively migrating. One of the local adult Goshawks flew close by the site.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds were 1 Northern Pygmy Owl (first heard at the site, then seen nearby by one of the observers), 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 2 Canada Jays, 8 Common Ravens, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 4 Boreal Chickadees, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, and 1 American Dipper. Mammals included a Snowshoe Hare and 5 White-tailed Deer.
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
