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Mount Lorette (13 Mar 2024) 78 Raptors

Mount Lorette
Alberta, Canada

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 13, 2024
Species Day’s Count Month Total Season Total
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 3 14 14
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0
Cooper’s Hawk 0 0 0
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson’s Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0
Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 75 185 185
American Kestrel 0 0 0
Merlin 0 0 0
Gyrfalcon 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Prairie Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 78 200 200
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 18:00:00
Total observation time: 10 hours
Official Counter Dan Parliament
Observers: Cameron Harvey

Weather:
The initial temperature was minus 7 C increasing to a high of zero C. The ground winds were light between 0-5 km/hr, and the directions changed from SW to NE to SW. The ridge winds were assessed as low and generally from the SW. From 1500-1600 hrs (MST) the ridge winds shifted to the North resulting in a reduction of migrants for that particular hour.

Raptor Observations:
Migrant flow was generally consistent throughout the day with a total flight of 75 Golden Eagles (61 adult, 1 subadult, 2 juvenile and 11 unaged), and three adult Bald Eagles. The peak hour was 1300-1400 hrs (MST) with a flight of 15 Golden Eagles and one Bald Eagle. The resident American Goshawk was heard calling from the parking lot, and observed hunting over Hummingbird Plume.

Non-raptor Observations:
Other observations were: Canada Goose x 4 Hairy Woodpecker x 1 Woodpecker sp x 1 Canada Jay x 4 Common Raven x 6 Bohemian Waxwing x 70


Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]



Mount Lorette (12 Mar 2024) 45 Raptors

Mount Lorette
Alberta, Canada

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 12, 2024
Species Day’s Count Month Total Season Total
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 2 11 11
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0
Cooper’s Hawk 0 0 0
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson’s Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0
Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 43 110 110
American Kestrel 0 0 0
Merlin 0 0 0
Gyrfalcon 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Prairie Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 45 122 122
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 18:00:00
Total observation time: 9.77 hours
Official Counter Caroline Lambert
Observers: Lynette MacCulloch

Visitors:
Only four people stopped to chat. One couple had intended to hike in the Ribbon Creek area, but that area is closed because of a prescribed burn taking place. We could occasionally smell a whiff of wood smoke, but otherwise the burn didn’t impact us.
Many thanks to Numiko Hiraki for helping us spot eagles for a few hours.

Weather:
The temperature stayed in a narrow, but comfortable, range all day – starting at 1C, rising all the way to 4C, and dropping to 2C at the end. The day started mostly cloudy, became even more cloudy by mid-afternoon, with some snowflakes drifting down, and then cleared up quite a bit by evening. The east ridge looked a little misty at times, but remained visible all day, while the higher peaks on the west side of the valley kept disappearing into the clouds. Ground winds were light to moderate. Ridge winds were very strong in the morning, gradually fading as the day went by.

Raptor Observations:
In the morning the eagles were making good use of the strong ridge winds, and were flying high and fast along the east ridge. Although the wind abated a bit over the course of the day, some of the eagles were still able to maintain height and speed, while some had to soar to gain height above ridge level. All the movement was on the east ridge. After an initial burst of 6 all at once in the morning, movement was a steady trickle of 3 to 6 eagles per hour all day, resulting in 43 Golden Eagles (42a, 1u) and 2 adult Bald Eagles.

Non-raptor Observations:
We were delighted to hear the drumming of woodpeckers in the area, and were lucky enough to see three of them. Non-raptor species were: Canada Goose 3, Ruffed Grouse 1, American Three-toed Woodpecker 1, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Pileated Woodpecker 1, Canada Jay 3, Black-billed Magpie 2, Common Raven 10, Black-capped Chickadee 2, Mountain Chickadee 1


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Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]



Mount Lorette (11 Mar 2024) 18 Raptors

Mount Lorette
Alberta, Canada

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 11, 2024
Species Day’s Count Month Total Season Total
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 2 9 9
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0
Cooper’s Hawk 0 0 0
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson’s Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0
Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 16 67 67
American Kestrel 0 0 0
Merlin 0 0 0
Gyrfalcon 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Prairie Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 18 77 77
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 18:00:00
Total observation time: 9.5 hours
Official Counter Blake Weis
Observers: Rick Robb

Visitors:
9 visitors stopped to talk, and 3 stayed for a while to look for migrants.

Weather:
The temperature was 0 C in the morning, it increased to 4 in the afternoon, then decreased to 2 by the end of observation. Wind was usually between 10 and 20 k/m at ground level, and was probably moderate (11-40 km/hr) at ridge level. Light snow fell on an off throughout the day, often obscuring some of the mountain ridges.

Raptor Observations:
16 Golden Eagles (13 adults and 3 unaged) and 2 adult Bald Eagles were counted gliding over the Fisher Range to Mt. Lorette between snow squalls. Another adult Bald Eagle flying south past Olympic Summit was counted as a non-migrant, and a local adult Goshawk was seen soaring over Hummingbird Plume Hill.

Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 1 Canada Jay, 5 Ravens, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 3 Mountain Chickadees and 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches.


Report submitted by Blake Weis (blake_weis@ymail.com)
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]



Mount Lorette (10 Mar 2024) 7 Raptors

Mount Lorette
Alberta, Canada

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 10, 2024
Species Day’s Count Month Total Season Total
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 0 7 7
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0
Cooper’s Hawk 0 0 0
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson’s Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0
Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 7 51 51
American Kestrel 0 0 0
Merlin 0 0 0
Gyrfalcon 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Prairie Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 7 59 59
Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 16:30:00
Total observation time: 9.5 hours
Official Counter Jessica Banas
Observers: Jennifer Brand

Visitors:
The ski hill remained closed and foot traffic was minimal today. There were 7 people that stopped by to chat, including one of observers Allison.

Weather:
The day started off around -6C and slowly warmed throughout the day, finishing at 0C. It was quite breezy all day on the ground, around 15km SW. At ridge level, the winds seemed quite strong, approximately 40-80km SW. Cloud cover was light for most of the morning, however snow clouds developed into the afternoon which led to on and off snow obscuring the ridgeline.

Raptor Observations:
With DST this morning, the birds took a little while to get moving. One early juvenile was spotted on a unique path from Patrick to Lorette. Later in the afternoon the birds found a common path along the east ridgeline. In all Golden Eagles included 2j, 2a,1sa, 2u. 1 local adult Bald Eagle was seen multiple times during the day, identified easily by a chunk of missing flight feathers. At the very end of the day, once the snow had taken over both the east & west ridges, a subadult Golden Eagle was chased by a Raven from Patrick back to Fisher, and disappeared into the snow moving quickly South. This bird was not included as a migrant.

Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included 2 Mountain Chickadees and 3 Ravens.


Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]



Mount Lorette (09 Mar 2024) 3 Raptors

Mount Lorette
Alberta, Canada

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 09, 2024
Species Day’s Count Month Total Season Total
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 0 7 7
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0
Cooper’s Hawk 0 0 0
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson’s Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0
Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 3 44 44
American Kestrel 0 0 0
Merlin 0 0 0
Gyrfalcon 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Prairie Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 3 52 52
Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter Blake Weis, Blake Weis, Lynn Macintosh
Observers:

Visitors:
A power outage at the nearby ski hill brought an influx of visitors to the meadow. About 40 people stopped to talk, none stayed to watch for migrants.

Weather:
The temperature at the beginning of observation was at -1 C, though it quickly warmed up to +6 and remained there until the end. Wind at ground level was blustery with some gusts between 20 and 30 km/h. At ridge level wind was strong to very strong (40-100+ km/h) judging by the amount of snow blowing off the mountains. Cloud cover was usually around 40% cirrus which made good conditions for both spotting and identification.

Raptor Observations:
Despite seemingly good conditions for migration, only three migrants (2 u & 1 a Golden Eagles) were observed. The first was spotted around 9:30 AM flying low near Hummingbird Plume Hill and Mt. Lorette which had likely been roosting nearby. The other two were gliding very high over the Fisher Range to Mt. Lorette. The last migrant was seen around 11:30 AM. At least one of the local Goshawks was heard calling in the morning and seen soaring over Hummingbird Plume Hill later.

Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds included 1 Canada Jay, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 5 Ravens, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 3 Mountain Chickadees, 8 Boreal Chickadees, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch and 1 Brown Creeper. 6 White-tailed Deer passed through the meadow.


Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]



Mount Lorette (08 Mar 2024) 28 Raptors

Mount Lorette
Alberta, Canada

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 08, 2024
Species Day’s Count Month Total Season Total
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 3 7 7
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0
Cooper’s Hawk 0 0 0
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson’s Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0
Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 24 41 41
American Kestrel 0 0 0
Merlin 0 0 0
Gyrfalcon 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Prairie Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 1 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 28 49 49
Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:30:00
Total observation time: 8.5 hours
Official Counter Annie Finch
Observers: Bill McKeeman

Visitors:
9 people stopped in to chat about the count.

Weather:
The morning started out at -3°C, rose to 3°C by 3:00 pm, and stayed there until we left at 5:30 pm. Ground winds were moderate throughout the day with some gusts up to 20 km/h. Ridge winds were strong from the WSW and high winds were strong out of the west, until around 3:00 pm when the wind shifted to the NW. The day started out with an almost clear blue sky. High cirrus and low cumulus clouds, and a beautiful Chinook Arch, combined to provide significant cloud cover for the rest of the day. No precipitation was observed.

Raptor Observations:
All the eagles observed today used the east ridges. The strong chinook winds from the SW until the early afternoon provided a steady stream of migrants tucked up and gliding fast and many Golden Eagles remained unaged. Light conditions were good, but the eagles kept us guessing by using a variety of flight path heights throughout the day. Many flew behind Patrick and across the front of Lorette.
Golden Eagles: 11a, sa, j, 2ui, 11u Bald Eagles: 1a, 2sa, j, u Undifferentiated Eagles: 1
No other raptors, migrant or resident, were observed.

Non-raptor Observations:
It was a slow day for songbirds with only Common Ravens, Boreal Chickadees, and a solitary Black-billed Magpie observed.


Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]



Mount Lorette (07 Mar 2024) 4 Raptors

Mount Lorette
Alberta, Canada

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 07, 2024
Species Day’s Count Month Total Season Total
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 0 4 4
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0
Cooper’s Hawk 0 0 0
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson’s Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0
Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 4 17 17
American Kestrel 0 0 0
Merlin 0 0 0
Gyrfalcon 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Prairie Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 4 21 21
Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:15:00
Total observation time: 8.25 hours
Official Counter Caroline Lambert
Observers: Lynette MacCulloch

Visitors:
The beautiful weather and the newly groomed ski trail brought out a number of people. About 10 stopped to talk.

Weather:
It was a beautiful sunny day out at the site. There were no clouds, little wind, and for more than half the day, no birds either, not even ravens. It wasn’t until afternoon that a few ravens appeared above the ridges. The temperature started out at -17C, rose to a high of -3C, and was -4C when we left. Ridge winds were light. Some snow was blowing off the higher peaks on the west ridge by the end of the day, but not on the east ridge.

Raptor Observations:
The only migrants were four adult Golden Eagles that appeared at Mt Lorette in mid-afternoon. The first two were seen low over the right side of Lorette, then quickly disappeared behind the mountain. The other two were first spotted low on the left side. They soared until they were about the height of the summit, then disappeared behind.
A local American Goshawk was heard early in the morning.

Non-raptor Observations:
There were few birds – no dippers or jays, just a few chickadees (two Mountain and one Boreal), a distant fly-by Red Crossbill, and about 10 Common Ravens.


Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]



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