Mount Lorette (18 Mar 2026) 10 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 18, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 8 | 287 | 287 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 1 | 9 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 10 | 319 | 319 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Dan Parliament |
| Observers: | Alicia Magwood, Erk Gamboa, Kerry Malakoff, Tyler Magwood |
Visitors:
We appreciated the additional assistance of George H, Dave S, and Yumi H in helping with observation. In addition, eighteen students from the Grade Five elementary school in Banff came to the site to learn more about the migration dynamics. A big thank you to Glenn Webber for providing an excellent interpretative tour, and Banff teachers Tyson and Christy.
Weather:
The temperature was reasonable at +6 C with ground winds from the SW at 6-11 km/hr. The High winds were High or greater than 41 km/hr. The day was characterized by low cloud cover and steady drizzle that ranged from light to heavy and then rain at at 1500 hrs. The count was suspended at 1530 hrs due to the continuing rain, obscured ridges and the promise of more nasty weather moving from the South.
Raptor Observations:
Ten migrant raptors were observed today. The count was eight Golden Eagles (Adults x 3, Unaged x 5), one adult Bald Eagle, and one unidentified Eagle. With the low cloud ceiling there was some haze on the ridges, and the migrants appeared to pop up behind the Big Smile and then catch the Southerly ridge winds and then quickly disappear down the valley. The route seemed to extend down the valley rather than towards Mt Lorette as typical. The brief appearance of the migrants plus the lack of soaring was not conducive to accurate aging of the migrants. In addition, a resident American Goshawk (unaged) and three resident adult Bald Eagles were observed, all of which were hunting low over the valley and proceeding in a Southerly direction.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other observations were as follows: Canada Goose x 4, Common Merganser x 3, Belted Kingfisher x 1, Canada Jay x 1, Common Raven x 1, Black-capped Chickadee x 3, Mountain Chickadee x 3, White-winged Crossbill x 2 and White-tailed Deer x 2
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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]
