Mount Lorette (09 Oct 2022) 135 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 09, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 7 | 27 | 40 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 8 | 37 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 7 | 18 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 8 | 15 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 15 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 123 | 549 | 704 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 7 | 11 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Total: | 135 | 642 | 893 |
| Observation start time: | 07:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | David Musto |
Weather:
In typical fashion for this fall count it was warm with a high of 18C and the sky was nearly cloudless. The low in the morning was 0C. The wind was almost non-existent and ground level. At ridge level it was generally light and the direction switched back and forth between NE and SW. There was some haze in the sky to the south but it hardly affected observing conditions. The clear sky did make it difficult to spot the higher and more distant raptors.
Raptor Observations:
Despite poor wind conditions for migration there was a good movement of golden eagles today. It peaked in the early afternoon with 52 migrants between 12:00 and 14:00. There was also a decent late day rush in the last couple hours. The usual pattern in the afternoon was for migrants to show up to the north near Mt. Lorette where they soared and gained plenty of height. They usually lost that height gliding over the valley and disappeared low behind Patrick. Some emerged farther south over the Fisher Range and some didn’t. Other migrants apparently couldn’t find thermals and had to resort to flapping across the valley. Later in the day they were spotted over Patrick and the south portion of the Fisher Range but rarely at Lorette.
Non-raptor Observations:
Mourning cloak butterflies were still out
Other bird observations on eBird: ebird.org/checklist/S120359661
Report submitted by ()
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]
