Mount Lorette (08 Oct 2023) 176 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 08, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 20 | 22 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 5 | 71 | 101 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 19 | 23 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 12 | 17 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 162 | 810 | 967 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 7 | 11 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 3 | 19 | 37 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| Total: | 176 | 985 | 1234 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11.42 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch |
Visitors:
60 visitors stopped to talk about the count. 10 people brought binoculars. Thanks to all stayed for a while to help spot raptors!
Weather:
The temperature was 3C upon arrival to the site, it cooled to 2 and hour later, rose to 19 in the afternoon, then fell to 16 at the end of observation. Wind was light at ground level from the W-SW most of the day, except in the afternoon when there were some gusts over 20 km/h. Ridge wind was also from the SW with sustained wind usually over 30 and gusts over 40. The sky was cloudless until the last few hours, when a few scarce cumulus and cirrus clouds formed to the west.
Raptor Observations:
The count consisted of 176 migrants including 162 Golden Eagles (80a, 20j, 9sa, 6ui, 47u), 3 Bald Eagles (2a, 1 sa), 5 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 3 unidentified small accipiters, 1 unidentified eagle and 1 unidentified raptor. Most of the migrants used the eastern ridges with varying heights and flight methods. Some were soaring relatively low at or below mountain top height all the way, others gained much height kiting and soaring, but most lost it gliding between peaks. Eagles started moving early with 20 counted in the first hour of observation. Movement remained steady throughout of the day, with the exception of a couple hours in the afternoon when they seemed to take a lunch break. The nearly cloudless sky made spotting difficult all day. On the other hand, the bright light made for good ID and ageing conditions, except for the first few hours when migrants were silhouetted by the rising sun. A resident Goshawk was heard calling in the morning, and later one was seen fighting with ravens over Hummingbird Plume Hill, which may or may not have been the same bird.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds were scarce. They included: Ruffed Grouse 1, Belted Kingfisher 1, Canada Jay 3, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 15, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Boreal Chickadee 4, Brown Creeper 1, American Dipper 1, Bohemian Waxwing 35, Pine Grosbeak 1, Pine Siskin 1
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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 Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
