Mount Lorette (16 Oct 2024) 32 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 16, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 40 | 51 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 69 | 87 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 9 | 17 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Golden Eagle | 31 | 1581 | 1844 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Total: | 32 | 1743 | 2066 |
| Observation start time: | 07:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Dan Parliament |
| Observers: | Rick Robb |
Visitors:
There 14 visitors, including several with binoculars who assisted in observation.
Weather:
The observer arrived at the parking lot at 0730 to steady rain and low clouds. As a result opening was delayed until 0840 when the weather system had passed. Opening temperatures were 7 C with a high of 12 C at 1400 hrs. Grounds winds were from the SW increasing from 1-5 to 10-15 km/hr through the day. Ridge winds were assessed as SW at medium strength (11-40 km/hr). The ridge winds were predominantly SW at 20-40 km/hr with gusts to 70 km/hr. In the afternoon periods of light rain and drizzle were encountered.
Raptor Observations:
The first Golden Eagle passed at 0949 (MDT) and the last was at 1555 hrs. After the last Golden Eagle the skies became very quiet. The reason for this became apparent as the observers left the site driving North on Hwy 40, and encountered extensive heavy rains extending well North of Highway 1. The Day count was 31 Golden Eagles (Adults x 18, Subadults x 2, Juveniles x 2, Unaged x 9). A single unaged Sharp-shinned Hawk was recorded. The resident Bald Eagle, Northern Goshawk and Golden Eagle circled the valley at various times. The resident Bald Eagle caused some confusion (resident vs migrant) as it appeared several times during the day hunting throughout the valley.
Non-raptor Observations:
It was a quiet day for non-raptor observation. At one point a flock of 23 Common Ravens appeared over the Little Smile on Patrick and slowly moved North. Northern Flicker x 1, Canada Jay x 3, Black-billed Magpie x 1, Common Raven x 35 (including one flock of 23), Black-capped Chickadee x 2, American Robin x 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]
