Mount Lorette (12 Mar 2025) 10 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 12, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 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 | 10 | 87 | 87 |
| 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 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 10 | 100 | 100 |
| Observation start time: | 10:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8.13 hours |
| Official Counter | Annie Finch |
| Observers: | Bill McKeeman |
Visitors:
Eight people stopped by to chat about the count.
Weather:
The start of the count was delayed until 11 am due to poor visibility at the site. The temperature at 11 am was 0°C, rose to 7°C by 4 pm, and fell to 4°C by the end of the count. Arrival at the parking lot at 9 am was met with all ridges fully obscured and the southern portion of the valley fully ensconced in cloud. Ridges cleared during the 11 oâclock hour. McDougall remained intermittently obscured until after noon. The afternoon presented some of the best observation and migration conditions this observer has ever encountered. The eagles did not agree. Winds increased throughout the day from negligible in the morning to moderate from the SW at ridge level in the afternoon. Ground winds shifted from the SW to the NE at seemingly random intervals. Light flurries gave way to partial cumulus cloud cover, which would have been excellent for locating and identifying raptors if they had not been so high, fast, and tucked up to glide.
Raptor Observations:
Migrant Eagles Ten golden Eagles were observed migrating north today. The first appeared just after 11 am crossing overhead from the west toward Patrick, then proceeded north to Lorette; it was relatively low and used powered flight for the entirely of its progression. Two more eagles were observed flying from Patrick to Lorette during the 12 pm hour. The final seven migrants of the day were not spotted until after 4 pm. They were all observed flying increasingly higher and faster leaving Patrick. Aging was made difficult by the speed, trajectory, and body position of the birds. 10 Golden Eagles: 3a, 7u
No other raptors were observed.
Non-raptor Observations:
A group of 5 White-tailed Deer ambled across the river downstream of the site a few times throughout the day and were also encountered on the walk out. Three deer also loped across the meadow in the afternoon. Ten Mountain Goats were observed along the south ridge of Olympic Summit in the morning. An indeterminate number of Red Squirrels chattered from the surrounding forest.
Three Common Ravens and two Black-capped Chickadees were also observed at the site.
A small flock of finches/buntings flew overhead in the afternoon; they declined to be identified more specifically.
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
