Mount Lorette (07 Oct 2025) 215 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 07, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Bald Eagle | 4 | 19 | 23 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 19 | 49 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 6 | 12 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 8 | 30 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 206 | 828 | 970 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Total: | 215 | 906 | 1151 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.03 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Rick Robb |
Visitors:
We thank everyone who came with binoculars and helped us spot the eagles. There were about 40 people altogether, including several groups of children who seemed to be enjoying their unplanned freedom from school.
Weather:
It was another mild day with comfortable temperatures and little wind. Although the starting temperature was 0C, as soon as the sun came over the ridge it warmed up rapidly to a high of 17C. It was 9C as we left, shortly before sunset. Ground winds were light, mostly from the southwest, and ridge winds mostly moderate and also from the southwest. The upper level clouds moved from the west. A smattering of cumulus clouds early on gave way to almost complete coverage of cirrostratus clouds, which in turn dissipated until there were no clouds, but then built up again before we left.
Raptor Observations:
The large flight of eagles from yesterday continued today from sunrise until early afternoon – an unusual day in that the majority of the birds (143) were seen in the morning and early afternoon, and only 63 in the afternoon and early evening. The first eagles were seen at 0750, and the last at 1845. The total was 206 Golden Eagles (93a, 18sa, 3j, 18ui, 74u). There was enough wind that very little soaring was needed, presenting the usual aging challenges as the majority of the eagles glided quickly over the east ridge without showing us much of their plumage. Other migrating raptors were 4 Bald Eagles (3a, 1j), one adult American Goshawk, one Sharp-shinned Hawk, two unidentified small accipitrine hawks, and one unidentified eagle. Just two non-migrants were spotted – an adult Golden Eagle and an adult American Goshawk, both seen hunting over Hummingbird Plume.
Non-raptor Observations:
With the focus on the eagles on the east ridge, there was little time to look for or pay attention to anything else. There are still a few flocks of small birds heading south. Other birds were one Ruffed Grouse, one Hairy Woodpecker, one Pileated Woodpecker, one Clark’s Nutcracker, six Common Ravens, one Mountain Chickadee, and three American Robins.
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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 Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
