Mount Lorette (14 Oct 2023) 178 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 14, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 10 | 31 | 33 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 3 | 85 | 115 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 23 | 27 |
| 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 | 160 | 1345 | 1502 |
| 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 | 1 | 23 | 41 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 7 | 12 |
| Total: | 178 | 1562 | 1811 |
| Observation start time: | 07:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch |
Visitors:
15 visitors stopped to talk, and thanks to the 6 who came to watch eagle migration!
Weather:
Weather was generally quite nice and the wind was favorable for migration. The temperature was 0 C at the beginning of the day, the high was 12 and it fell to 7 as we were leaving. Ground wind was light to calm in the morning and blustery in the afternoon with gusts close to 30 km/h from the SW. Ridge wind was also from the SW, usually 30-40 with gusts up to 60. cloud cover varied from 30 to 60% throughout the day.
Raptor Observations:
The days total was 178 migrants, including 160 Golden Eagles (37a, 15sa, 9j, 8ui, 91u), 10 Bad Eagles (7a, 1sa3, 1sa1/2, 1u), 1 Northern Harrier, 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 American Goshawk, 1 unidentified small accipiter, 1 unidentified eagle and 1 unidentified small raptor. The strong Golden Eagle movement that started in the previous evening resumed early in the morning. The first one was sighted at 8:15 AM while I was still walking in, and I had counted 9 before reaching the site. Golden Eagles moved through almost continuously until 11 AM, at which point over 90 had been counted. After 11 the pace slowed considerably and became more of a steady trickle. Migrants were mostly on the eastern ridges, though a few used the west. Height was variable, they tended to be low in the morning but often quite high in the afternoon. During the morning rush migrants were backlit by the sunrise, so most were impossible to age. In the afternoon they were flying higher and faster, making spotting difficult in a sky with few clouds. One migrating sub-adult Golden Eagle tried hunting (unsuccessfully) along the way by dive-bombing at a couple bighorn sheep on a steep cliff. It seemed like the eagle was trying to knock a sheep off the mountain or scare it into jumping. A resident Goshawk was heard early in the morning and later seen hunting over Skogan Pass.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included: Ruffed Grouse 1, Northern Flicker 1, Canada Jay 3, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 13, Boreal Chickadee 1, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Golden-crowned Kinglet 7, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, Bohemian Waxwing 40, Red Crossbill 1, Pine Siskin 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler 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]
