Mount Lorette (27 Mar 2026) 37 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 27, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 58 | 58 |
| 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 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 31 | 974 | 974 |
| 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: | 37 | 1061 | 1061 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11 hours |
| Official Counter | Ethan Denton |
| Observers: | Tiina Moore |
Visitors:
About 28 people came by, and 14 stopped to chat and help look.
Weather:
Temperatures rose quickly from -8�C to 2�C, but sharp winds kept it brisk! For much of the days the ground winds blew around 15km/h, with gusts of up to 43km/h. Pressure dropped by a couple points throughout the day, and clouds cover varied from cirrus to cumulus to even a bit of lenticular, but rarely enough to fully cover the sky. Ridge winds looked strong from the SW based on the plumes of snow blowing off the peaks, but the Nakiska Ridgetop weather station was down so no exact numbers were obtained.
Raptor Observations:
Golden Eagles came slow and steady for most of the day after 11:00, apart from one burst between 12:30 and 1:00. This led to our highest hour, with 10 Goldens and 12 raptors in total. The final count was 31 Golden Eagles (18 adult, 11 unknown, and 2 subadults).
2 Bald Eagles (1a, 1s) and 4 Red-tailed Hawks also passed over. The Hawks were a fun mix, with three dark morphs – two ‘calurus’ and one Harlan’s – and one pale bird of the ‘abietacola’ subspecies.
Also entertaining was the resident Golden Eagle pair. The male performed an extended aerial display at various point across the Eastern slope, while the female feigned disinterest. The resident Goshawk, and an adult Bald Eagle made appearances.
Non-raptor Observations:
Perhaps because of the wind, it felt quiet today, but when there were birds it was a good variety. A male Red-winged Blackbird sang from several treetops, which were later occupied by the Northern Shrike. A Northern Flicker and a Hairy Woodpecker made absolutely sure they were heard by all around, and the first American Tree Sparrow of the year showed up at long last.
Report submitted by Ethan Denton (ethan@suechick.com)
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]
