Mount Lorette (29 Sep 2023) 29 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 29, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 30 | 30 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 19 | 155 | 155 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 7 | 18 | 18 |
| Unknown Buteo | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Total: | 29 | 247 | 247 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8.58 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
Quite a few people walked by, but only about 10 stopped to chat.
Weather:
The temperature started out at a chilly -3C, but rose to 8C by noon and stayed there for the rest of the day. The wind was non-existent to light from a westerly direction at all levels until the end of the day, when the wind switched to coming from the NE at both ground and ridge level. Although gusts were measured up to 25kph at ground level, at ridge level the wind never registered above 17kph. Cumulus clouds gradually built up throughout the day, obscuring parts of the ridges at times and sprinkling some rain. The count was terminated slightly early when the east ridge became obscured by low clouds and rain/snow.
Raptor Observations:
A rush of 10 Golden Eagles between noon and 1pm gave optimism for a day with high numbers, but it was not to be. The flight slowed down to a trickle, with a total of only 19 for the day (11a, 1sa, 1ui, 6u). Accipiters were plentiful, again, but only two flew low enough to be positively identified as adult Sharp-shinned Hawks. The remaining 7 unidentified accipiters were likely Sharp-shinned Hawks, as Cooper’s Hawks are quite rare in the mountains. The only other migrant was a buteo that was not possible to ID to species.
Only one non-migrant raptor was spotted. A juvenile American Goshawk sat in a tree by the river for a while, then took off into the forest as if it had seen something. This is likely the offspring of the local breeding pair.
Non-raptor Observations:
There has been a noticeable decrease in the number of migrating song birds, but there are still a few lingering, and several residents put in an appearance today. Hairy Woodpecker 1, Canada Jay 2, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 15, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Mountain Chickadee 1, Boreal Chickadee 2, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2, Golden-crowned Kinglet 4, Red-breasted Nuthatch 4, American Dipper 1, American Robin 1, Bohemian Waxwing 10, American Pipit 1, White-crowned Sparrow 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Predictions:
Tomorrow’s weather does not look favourable for migration. Snow and/or rain all day, 100% cloud cover, wind from the northeast.
Report submitted by ()
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]
