Mount Lorette (08 Mar 2025) 7 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 08, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 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 | 7 | 33 | 33 |
| 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: | 7 | 41 | 41 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis, Lynn MacIntosh |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
27 visitors stopped to talk. Thanks to the 3 people to stopped to look for eagles!
Weather:
The weather was remarkably consistent until the last hour of observation. The temperature was 4 C at the beginning, the high was 6, and it only fell to 5 by the end. There was strong wind from the S-SW with gusts frequently reaching 40 km/h at ground level, and ridge wind must have been very strong judging by the amount of blowing snow. Cloud cover was 20-40% cumulus, cirrus and cirrostratus. A weather system was clinging to the western ridges all day, obscuring the taller peaks and sending the occasional flake of snow into the valley. Around 4 PM the wind died down and that weather system slowly started moving into the valley. The count was concluded at 5 PM as light snow began to fall.
Raptor Observations:
The count was 7 Golden Eagles (2 adults & 5 unaged). They often appeared low over the Fisher Range, then used very strong updrafts to kite high into the sky over the east side of the valley before turning north towards Mt. Lorette. The first migrant wasn’t seen until nearly 2 PM. Afterwards, movement was slow but steady. They usually stayed tucked up kiting and gliding but did very little soaring, rarely showing features needed for ageing. No non-migrant raptors were observed.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included 1 Northern Shrike, 2 Canada Jays, 8 Common Ravens, 1 Boreal Chickadee, and 70 Bohemian Waxwings. The wind seemed to keep bird activity subdued. 1 White-tailed Deer was also seen.
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
