Mount Lorette (16 Apr 2023) 28 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 16, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 41 | 127 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 9 | 20 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 6 | 19 | 20 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Golden Eagle | 15 | 312 | 1751 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 10 | 20 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 28 | 417 | 1970 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:45:00 |
| Total observation time: | 12.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Dave Cuthiell, Leslie Baker |
Visitors:
25 visitors stopped to talk. None came to watch raptors.
Weather:
At the start of the day it was overcast and 2C. The clouds cleared down to a low of 30% in the afternoon before increasing to 100% again by the end of observation. Ground wind was gusty from the SSW-WSW with sustained winds often between 10 and 20 km/h and some gusts between 30 and 40. Ridge wind was strong all day from the WSW. The temperature reached a high of 7 and remained there until the end. Around 7 pm a storm started moving in from the south and the weather radar showed no sign of it blowing over. The count was concluded at 7:45 pm as the arrival of rain was imminent.
Raptor Observations:
The day’s count consisted of 15 Golden Eagles (3a, 4j, 3sa, 1ui, 4u), 1 adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, 3 Bald Eagles (2a, 1u), 6 Red-tailed Hawks (1 intermediate/dark adult Harlan’s, 4 light adults of unknown race and 1u), 1 light morph Rough-legged Hawk, 1 unidentified eagle and 1 Merlin (probable columbarius). Migrants were flying fairly high and for most of the day used variable flight paths. Later in the day they consolidated over the east ridges. The peak was 8 Golden Eagles between 6 and 7 pm who were likely moving in advance of the oncoming storm.
Resident raptors included 1 adult Golden Eagle displaying near the eastern ridges, 1 adult Northern Goshawk and 2 adult Bald Eagles.
Non-raptor Observations:
Mallard 2 Ruffed Grouse 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 2 American Crow 1 Common Raven 8 Black-capped Chickadee 4 Mountain Chickadee 2 Boreal Chickadee 2 swallow sp. 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 American Dipper 1 European Starling 4 Mountain Bluebird 1 Varied Thrush 2 American Robin 30 Bohemian Waxwing 100 In one flock American Pipit 6 Pine Grosbeak 2 White-winged Crossbill 3 Pine Siskin 4 Dark-eyed Junco (unkown ssp.) 9 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 2 Red-winged Blackbird 1
5 Red Squirrels 1 Coyote
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
