Mount Lorette (08 Apr 2025) 11 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 08, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 8 | 64 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 12 | 14 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 8 | 95 | 1033 |
| 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: | 11 | 123 | 1137 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Xavier Gorloo |
Visitors:
It was a quiet day for visitors – only six, in two groups, stopped to talk.
Weather:
The morning started off gloomy with the south end of the valley shrouded in mist. The clouds gradually broke up, but in a non-linear fashion as the west ridge and the south end of the east ridge appeared and disappeared in clouds and what appeared to be snow. A few stray snowflakes reached us. By the end of the day cloud cover was about 50% cumulus and the ridges were mostly clear. The temperature started out as a cool 2C and rose to 9C, but like the clouds the temperature rise was non-linear in response to cloud cover and wind. The final temperature was 8C. Ground wind oscillated between west and south, picking up substantially in the late afternoon. Ridge winds appeared to be from the south or south-southwest. The upper winds were strong from the west.
Raptor Observations:
The first migrants, a group of three Golden Eagles, were seen shortly before 1100, giving hope for a good day. But it was not to be. Of the 11 migrants, only one Bald Eagle and one Golden Eagle were seen after 1200. Most were gliding along the east ridge, but some needed to soar. The total was 8 Golden Eagles (1a, 1ui, 6u), 2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1j), and 1 adult Red-tailed Hawk.
An American Goshawk was seen various times during the day, and a Red-tailed Hawk hunted over Hummingbird Plume.
The resident Golden Eagles were active – at one point one of them landed about half-way down Patrick below the Little Smile. Another one landed on the snow beside it. Then they shuffled together behind some trees, and we could see an occasional wing flapping. After a few minutes, one flew away, shortly followed by the other. Exactly what they were up to is left to the imagination.
Non-raptor Observations:
There was much activity in the meadow in the morning, with at least 15 Mountain Bluebirds flitting around. Other birds were: 4 Canada Geese, 1 Ruffed Grouse (drumming), 2 Northern Flickers, 1 Northern Shrike, about 8 Common Ravens, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 1 Mountain Chickadee, 1 kinglet (too far away to determine species), about 8 American Robins, 1 American Tree Sparrow, 6 Dark-eyed Juncos, and 1 Red-winged Blackbird.
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
