Mount Lorette (28 Oct 2023) 22 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 28, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 62 | 64 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 108 | 138 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 29 | 33 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 19 | 24 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| Golden Eagle | 21 | 2628 | 2785 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 10 | 14 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 27 | 45 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 9 | 14 |
| Total: | 22 | 2933 | 3182 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Caroline Lambert, Lynn Macintosh |
Visitors:
18 people stopped to talk, none came to watch migration.
Weather:
The temperature was -15 C at the start of observation, it warmed to -4, then fell to -5 as we were leaving. Ground wind was light and varied between SW and NW. Ridge wind hardly exceeded 20 km/h and varied between W and N. Cloud cover was 90-100% throughout the day. The clouds occasionally threatened to lower, resulting in haze partially obscuring some peaks. A few flakes of snow fell late in the day but no significant precipitation occurred.
Raptor Observations:
The days count totaled 22 migrants including 21 Golden Eagles (10a, 3sa, 8u) and 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk. Weather conditions were poor for migration. The lack of wind or thermals kept the migrants low using primarily powered flight, and a few even landed to rest. One landed on a tree high on the Fisher Range just after 4:30 pm and apparently didn’t think it was worth continuing as it was still there when we left the site near sunset. The migrating eagles used the eastern ridges, low enough to pass in front of or behind the mountain peaks. The local juvenile American Goshawk made several very close flybys while hunting near the site. At least two Bald Eagles were hanging around the area, one immature bird and one or more adults seen several times.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included: 4 Trumpeter Swans, 2 Common Mergansers, 1 Northern Shrike, 2 Canada Jays, 7 Common Ravens, 1 American Dipper, 1 Evening Grosbeak, 3 Pine Grosbeaks, 2 Common Redpolls, 1 White-winged Crossbill, 6 American Tree Sparrows, and 5 Dark-eyed Juncos. A Short-tailed weasel made two appearances near the site, carrying a mouse or vole both times.
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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]
