Mount Lorette (31 Oct 2023) 23 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 31, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 82 | 84 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 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 | 2747 | 2904 |
| 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: | 23 | 3072 | 3321 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8.92 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Dan Parliament, James Bannon, Theresa Gawron |
Visitors:
One person stopped to ask about the count, and two others showed up with binoculars and helped spot – thanks Yumi and Dave!
Weather:
The temperature started at -10C, rose to +2C, and was -3C at the end of the day. Ridge winds were low from the southwest, only occasionally strong enough to blow snow off the west ridge. Ground winds were light most of the day, but enough to offset what little warmth came from the sun. The only clouds were cirrus, constantly changing in shape and coverage throughout the day.
Raptor Observations:
With the light ridge winds, most of the migrating raptors were making slow and laborious progress. Several of the eagles were seen using powered flight to cross the west side of the valley. The first few seen on the east side needed to use powered flight, but a few later in the day found enough uplift to glide and soar above the east ridge. Of the migrants, 21 were Golden Eagles (13a, 1j, 7u), and two were Bald Eagles (1a, 1j).
Early in the day a subadult Bald Eagle was perched on a tree by the river, and later two adult Bald Eagles flew north down the river. The local adult American Goshawk was seen hunting over Hummingbird Plume, and the juvenile was seen briefly as it disappeared into the nearby forest.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds seen were two gulls heading west (possible Herring Gulls), the usual 2 Canada Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, about 15 ravens (frequently harassing the migrating eagles), 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 1 Mountain Chickadee, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet, the American Dipper, about 25 Bohemian Waxwings, a couple of Pine Grosbeaks across the river, 1 lonely Common Redpoll, and a couple of slate-coloured Dark-eyed Juncos.
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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]
