Mount Lorette (28 Mar 2026) 27 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 28, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 60 | 60 |
| 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 | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 21 | 995 | 995 |
| 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 | 3 | 14 | 14 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Total: | 27 | 1088 | 1088 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:45:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Erin Gilbert |
Visitors:
31 People stopped to talk. 4 came with binoculars to watch for eagles.
Weather:
The temperate was -3 C at the start of observation, it rose to a high of 2, then fell to 0 as we were leaving. Ground wind was from the N-NW, 5-10 km/h in the morning and gusting up to 20 in the afternoon. Ridge wind was light from the NE, up to 13. High wind was moderate to strong from the SW. The collision of weather systems created a haze that made identification of distant raptors very difficult, and ageing impossible in most cases. Cloud cover was 20-30% cumulus and cirrus in the morning, but increased in the afternoon as the storm approached. Around 4 PM low cloud and snow began to envelop the west ridges, then started creeping into the valley to the north and south of the site. The count was concluded at 4:45 PM as snow reached the meadow and the east ridges began to disappear.
Raptor Observations:
Migration was slowish and somewhat sporadic between 12:45 and 4 PM. The count for the day was 27 raptors including 21 Golden Eagles (2 adults, 1 subadult, 18 u), 2 Bald Eagles (1 adult, 1 subadult), 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and 3 unidentified eagles. Movement was split between east and west ridges, and migrants were relatively low (often passing behind or in front of the mountains) given the poor flying conditions. Resident raptors included the Golden Eagle pair, one of which was displaying over Olympic Summit, an adult Goshawk that flew over the meadow carrying unidentified prey, and a Red-tailed Hawk that was displaying and harassing the migrating Red-tail.
Non-raptor Observations:
The most unusual bird of the day was a Spotted Towhee foraging with a group of Juncos. Other birds were 2 Canada Geese, 1 Common Merganser, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 American Three-toed Woodpecker, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 1 Northern Flicker, 8 Common Ravens, 1 Black-capped, 1 Mountain, and 2 Boreal Chickadees, 2 Golden Crowned Kinglets, 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 4 European Starlings, 2 Varied Thrushes, 6 American Robins, 15 Bohemain Waxwings, 3 Pine Siskins, and 7 Dark-eyed Juncos (3 Oregon, 4 u). 3 White-tailed Deer were also seen.
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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]
