Mount Lorette (18 Apr 2025) 19 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 18, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 20 | 76 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 21 | 23 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Golden Eagle | 6 | 146 | 1084 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Unknown Falcon | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Total: | 19 | 227 | 1241 |
| Observation start time: | 08:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Graeme Dunlop |
| Observers: | Bill McKeeman |
Visitors:
45
Weather:
The temperature at 0915 was 0C which rose to a high at 1600 of 14C. Ground winds were light WSW-SSW. Ridge winds were difficult to assess but occasional snow plumes indicated they were from NW to NE. The count began with a layer of altocumulus covering 90% of the sky but this quickly dissipated to 20% cumulus by 1000 before increasing again to 80% cirrostratus at 1200 then gradually clearing for the rest of the afternoon with some interesting cirrocumulus cloud formations.
Raptor Observations:
Raptor movement was sporadic and slow with 19 migrants seen between 1030 and 1620 with birds gliding high to very high above both the east and west ridges. The flight comprised 2a Bald Eagles, 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1a Cooper’s Hawk, 1a American Goshawk, 2 Red-tailed Hawks (1a light, 1u), 6 Golden Eagles (5a, 1u), 3 Merlin (2a, 1u), 1u Peregrine Falcon and 2 unidentified large falcons. Of note were the 5 falcons that flew along the western ridges between 1155 and 1225. Unfortunately I could only get an identification on the 2 Merlins that were flying together and 1 Peregrine. The other 2 large falcons were at extreme range in the binoculars and flew separately but on the same flight path from near the summit of Ribbon Peak northwards behind Mt Allan. Resident birds were a pair of Red-tailed Hawks and an adult Golden Eagle that was seen a few times throughout the day gliding high above the Fisher Range. An adult Golden Eagle could be seen perched near Olympic summit for about 2 hours. The resident American Goshawk was also seen a couple of times, displaying low over the river and later in the afternoon it was soaring very high overhead.
Non-raptor Observations:
4 Canada Geese, 2 Mallard, 1 Common Merganser, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 1 Northern Flicker, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 25 Common Ravens, 2 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 Mountain Chickadees, 3 Boreal Chickadees, 1 European Starling, 4 Mountain Bluebirds, 1 Varied Thrush singing, 30 American Robins, 11 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 Fox Sparrow singing, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 American Dipper, 1 Ruffed Grouse, 1 Tree Swallow
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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
