Mount Lorette (31 Oct 2024) 33 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 31, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 4 | 64 | 75 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 75 | 93 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 15 | 15 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 10 | 18 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 3 | 19 | 19 |
| Golden Eagle | 26 | 2344 | 2607 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Total: | 33 | 2558 | 2881 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9 hours |
| Official Counter | Caroline Lambert |
| Observers: | Lynette MacCulloch |
Visitors:
Six people came by, but only four stopped to talk.
Weather:
The temperature started at -5C and rose to a high of 3C, finishing the day at 0C. Initially the sky was blue with just a few cirrus clouds, but the cirrus clouds built up as the day went on, thickening and giving us little warmth from the sun. Cumulus clouds were appearing at the end of the day. Fortunately for us, there was not much wind at ground level, but there was also, once again, very little wind at ridge level. By the end of the day the ridge winds topped 20kph, mostly from the south-southwest.
Raptor Observations:
Despite the light ridge winds, there were some migrants determined to head south. Most were coming in low to the east ridge, then spending some time soaring to gain height, and there was frequent flapping of wings too. Some of the birds were seen over Mt Lorette, where they also spent quite a bit of time soaring to gain altitude. With so much soaring and slow movement, none of the eagles went unaged this time. The totals were 26 Golden Eagles (23a, 1sa, 1ui, 1j), 4 Bald Eagles (3a, 1wb), and 3 Rough-legged Hawks.
The only non-migrant seen was a Merlin on the walk in.
Non-raptor Observations:
Perhaps the highlight of the day was a Northern Pygmy-Owl perched high on a spruce tree near the pump houses in the late afternoon. Other birds were: Canada Goose 15, Belted Kingfisher 1 (juvenile), Northern Flicker 1, Canada Jay 3, Common Raven 6, Black-capped Chickadee 2, Boreal Chickadee 1
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
