Mount Lorette (11 Oct 2023) 8 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 11, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 21 | 23 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 81 | 111 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 22 | 26 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 15 | 20 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Golden Eagle | 6 | 1090 | 1247 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 19 | 37 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| Total: | 8 | 1285 | 1534 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Annie Finch |
| Observers: | Dan Parliament |
Visitors:
Seven people stopped by the site and chatted about the count. Special thanks to Cindy for bringing all the birds with her in the afternoon.
Weather:
The temperature was 5°C at sunrise, rising to 10°C by 1:00 pm, and decreasing only slightly to 9°C by 6:00 pm. All the ridges were clear at official sunrise and slowly collected clouds throughout the morning. Various clouds contemplated raining on us but none seemed particularly interested in making the effort. The precipitation we encountered during the middle of the day barely qualified as drizzle. Ground winds were light and variable in the morning and came around to the N/NE in the afternoon. Ridge winds increased to 20 km/h (gusting to 32 km/h) by 3:00 pm and generally from the SW.
Raptor Observations:
We had to wait until after 3:00 pm for our first eagle of the day, an excellent juvenile that appeared over Patrick. All six eagles we saw today used powered flight to some degree. A few gained a little height soaring over the north flank of Patrick before proceeding south. All were observed between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm (three in each hour).
Migrant Eagles 6 Golden Eagles: 1a, 2sa, 1j, 2u No Bald Eagles
Migrant Raptors The first raptor of the day was a Sharp-shinned hawk flying south across the meadow just after 9:00 am. A Merlin was spotted perched atop a pine across the river after 11:00 am, and another Sharp-shinned Hawk flew past over the river after noon.2 Sharp-shinned Hawks: 1a; 1u 1 Merlin: 1a
Non-migrant Raptors No non-migrant raptors were observed. The Canada Jays performed impassioned American Goshawk impersonations, but we were not fooled.
Non-raptor Observations:
Three Ruffed Grouse flushed off the path as I walked in to the site this morning, apparently unsettled as I talked loudly to myself. We were treated to numerous fly-bys from the local Belted Kingfisher. The American Dipper did not make an appearance. 3 Ruffed Grouse 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 5 Canada Jay 1 Black-billed Magpie 5 Common Raven 4 Black-capped Chickadee 1 Mountain Chickadee 8 Golden-crowned Kinglet 10 American Robin 14 Bohemian Waxwing 1 Pine Grosbeak
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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]
