Mount Lorette (30 Sep 2024) 116 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 30, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 11 | 11 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 18 | 18 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 110 | 263 | 263 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Merlin | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Total: | 116 | 323 | 323 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 19:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 11 hours |
| Official Counter | Lori Anderson |
| Observers: | Glenn Webber |
Visitors:
Thanks to the well over 60 people who came by to observe our activities. One couple even came with chairs and binoculars to help.
Weather:
The temperature at the onset of the count was 2C with 75% humidity. (Brrr) By 16:00 it reached 9C and lowered to 7C when we abandoned the site. The cloud coverage started with 40% Cumulus but soon cleared to about 10% coverage and remained so throughout the day until 16:00 when some Cirrus and a bit of Stratus formed. Later some Lenticular deformation and Cirrocumulus appeared. Southern ground winds started light but quickly intensified with strong gusts throughout the day. Ridge winds were moderate from the West for the most part.
Raptor Observations:
The morning was very quiet until 11:00 when the ridge winds changed from E to W and the birds started trickling in. Oh, what a day! We sighted between 6 â 22 raptors per hour for the rest of the day with virtually no lulls in activity. Between 14:00 and 17:00 we found about half of the days total. The chosen flight route for the day was high, high, very high and even higher! Most came from the valley centre and followed the Eastern route.
Final Count: 110 Golden Eagles (46 adults, 10 sub-adults, 26 juveniles, 28 unaged), 3 Bald Eagles, 1 Peregrin Falcon, 1 unidentified Accipiter (large), 1 unidentified raptor (small). The local raptors made a few appearances throughout the day. A Goshawk called out from the forest in the morning and later one was sighted hunting over the north side of the valley. A local Golden Eagle got into a clawing fight with a Bald Eagle over the right flank of Lorette. The outcome is unknown because they quickly went down out of sight. A resident Golden was seen perusing the land later in the day, so maybe it was the winner.
Non-raptor Observations:
For most of the day, not a croak was to be heard from the Ravens and then it happened! A raven party was sighted over Lorette. At least 12 Ravens caught a thermal and danced over the mountain. Other birds sighted, when we werenât straining our necks to age the eagles were: Black-capped Chickadee 2, Mountain Chickadee 3, Robin 3, Savannah Sparrow 1, Dark-eyed Junco 3, American Dipper 1, Brown Creeper, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
