Mount Lorette (27 Oct 2023) 220 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 27, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 4 | 62 | 64 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 107 | 137 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 2 | 29 | 33 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 19 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| Golden Eagle | 209 | 2607 | 2764 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 1 | 10 | 14 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 27 | 45 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 9 | 14 |
| Total: | 220 | 2911 | 3160 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9 hours |
| Official Counter | Graeme Dunlop |
| Observers: | Ruth Morrow |
Visitors:
8
Weather:
The temperature at 0900 was -19C, the high by mid-afternoon was -7C. Winds were light all day, calm at ground level, mainly light NW at ridge level. Cloud cover was initially 80-100% thin stratocumulus that thinned by late morning to 30-50% cumulus and some cirrus. Observing conditions were excellent.
Raptor Observations:
Raptor movement was slow in the morning. Unexpectedly, large numbers of Golden Eagles were seen from midday continuing for most of the rest of the day. All raptors used the eastern ridges, sometimes gliding across from Mt Lorette but more often appearing from behind the Fisher Range. Most of the Golden Eagles spent some time soaring at various points along the eastern ridge. It seemed as though the combination of a light tail wind and weak thermals was enough to create favourable conditions for the eagles. The count was 220 birds of 6 species that comprised 2a, 2sa Bald Eagles, 2a Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1a, 1juv American Goshawks, 1 unidentified accipiter, 1a light Red-tailed Hawk, 209 Golden Eagles (158a, 12sa, 12j, 27u), and 1u Merlin.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds identified were 10 Snow Geese, 42 Canada Geese, 6 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 3 Black-billed Magpies, 14 Common Ravens, 1 American Robin, 2 Canada Jays.
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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 Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
