Mount Lorette (13 Oct 2026) 176 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 13, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 12 | 22 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 45 | 73 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 6 | 18 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 7 | 19 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 9 | 12 |
| Golden Eagle | 170 | 745 | 1011 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 7 | 11 |
| Total: | 176 | 853 | 1219 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.7 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Linda Hickey, Peter Christensen |
Visitors:
There were many visitors, about 40 of whom stopped to chat and ask about the count. We were delighted with those that helped to spot, and were glad that most of them were able to see at least a few eagles.
Weather:
The day started out on the cool side, at -2C. The temperature rose to 8C, and was 5C by the end of the day. Altostratus and cirrus clouds dominated the sky most of the day, with some breaking up into altocumulus by day’s end. Ground wind stayed mostly calm, while ridge winds were low in the morning, becoming more moderate in the afternoon, mostly from the southwest, and never higher than 30kph.
Raptor Observations:
The low ridge winds resulted in a day of low and slow movement of eagles, which allowed for excellent views. Nearly all the unaged birds were in the last hour, when there was no light from the sun. There was a steady stream that we could follow from Skogan Peak to Lorette and then to the Fisher Range, where most of them came in at or below ridge level, then soared to gain height. Occasional scans of the west ridge yielded nothing. After a slow start, there were about 30 eagles per hour until just after sunset. The total was 170 (118a, 11sa, 8j, 17ui, 16u).
Other migrant raptors were 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, one unidentified accipitrine hawk (probably Cooper’s), one Red-tailed Hawk (possibly Harlan’s), one Prairie Falcon, and an almost adult Bald Eagle.
The only non-migrant raptors were two separate incidences of an adult Golden Eagle – in the morning one was seen flying towards Lorette from the south, and in the afternoon one was seen hunting over Hummingbird Plume.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds were a couple of Mountain Chickadees, three Black-capped Chickadees, the Belted Kingfisher, an American Dipper, an American Three-toed Woodpecker, a Northern Shrike, two Canada Jays, two Black-billed Magpies, one Clark’s Nutcracker, and about 15 Common Ravens.
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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 Trektellen.org – [Project Details]
