Mount Lorette (26 Mar 2026) 28 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 26, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 4 | 56 | 56 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 20 | 943 | 943 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Total: | 28 | 1024 | 1024 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.33 hours |
| Official Counter | Graeme Dunlop |
| Observers: | Guy Kerr |
Visitors:
6 people stopped to chat, including a couple with binoculars who stayed for a while to help.
Weather:
The start of the count was delayed until 0900 due to poor visibility. The temperature at 0900 was -14C, the high at 1700 was -4C. It was initially calm at ground level then light variable for the rest of the day. Ridge winds were initially highly variable with different ridges having snow plumes blowing in opposite directions to the ones on the other side of the valley, but they became moderate to strong SW by late morning. Cloud cover was also mixed but generally the east ridges and overhead were clear with some cumulus. Much thicker stratocumulus and stratus clouds persisted to the south and west for most of the day. 100% stratus from 1445 to 1615 brought periods of light snow before gradually clearing again. No Golden Eagles were seen after 1630 so the count was ended a little early at 1920.
Raptor Observations:
The mixed conditions produced a disappointing count of 28 migrants that comprised 4 Bald Eagles (3a, 1sa), 2 adult light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks, 2 Rough-legged Hawks and 20 Golden Eagles (15a, 5u). All Golden Eagles were seen over the eastern ridges. Before the mid-afternoon snowfall, the eagles were flapping and gliding just above ridge level before crossing the river valley, in quite a steep glide, taking them well to the east of Mt Lorette and quickly disappearing out of sight. When the snow cleared at 1615, 3 Golden Eagles appeared over Mt McDougall gliding north at a higher altitude, indicating that flying conditions had become more favourable. We hoped that we would have a busy evening but sadly we saw our last Golden Eagle of the day at 1630.
Non-raptor Observations:
The Northern Pygmy Owl was calling for much of the day but remained stubbornly out of sight. Other birds were: 15 Canada Geese, 6 Mallards, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 1 Northern Flicker, 7 Common Ravens, 3 Black-capped Chickadees, 1 lone European Starling that hung around for much of the day, 16 American Robins, 2 Pine Siskins, 1 Dark-eyed Junco.
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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]
