The main observation site is the Hay Meadow, Mt. Lorette Site. The site is located in Kananaskis on the bank of the Kananaskis River. It has a view of the open valley. which allows excellent (though rather distant) viewing of the Fisher Range to the east. The bulk of the Golden Eagles and other raptors use this ridge as part of their preferred migration route.
Mt. Lorette Observations
See the seasonal count reports and daily summaries for historical observation counts. The following observations started in Fall 2021.
04/06/2022
Observers: Bill Wilson and Rachel Boekel
06:40 AM
08:30 PM
Low -4C, high +5C
A very pleasant, sunny day with scattered cumulus clouds (maximum 30%, decreasing to clear sky by 4 pm) and ground winds mostly SW 5 - 20 km/h. Winds aloft mostly WSW, varying between 10 and 35 km/h. Raptor movement was very light for most of the day, with the first at 7:55 am and the second three and a half hours later at 11:23. By 6 pm, we'd had only 10 Golden Eagles, 3 Bald Eagles, 1 Northern Goshawk, and 1 unidentified small raptor; but then, after an hour without any raptors, the winds aloft picked up a bit (about 25 km/h) and the eagles began the last-minute rush noted below. The result was a nice total for this time of the season.
29 (14 adults, 1 subadult, 5 juveniles, 1 undifferentiated immature, and 8 unaged).
5 Bald Eagles, 1 Northern Goshawk, and one unidentified small raptor
21 migrants (19 Golden Eagles and 2 Bald Eagles) in the hour between 7:13 and 8:12 pm.
36
2 Bald Eagles, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and 2 Golden Eagles (one of them display diving)
Canada Goose: 3 flying very high towards the northwest, 2 local birds landed on the river
Northern Flicker: 2
American Robin: 3
Varied Thrush: 2
Black-capped Chickadee: 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch: 1
Common Raven: 27 (largest flock 6)
Dark-eyed Junco: 2
Two ravens interacting strongly as they flew north about 300 m above the ground locked claws for 5 or more seconds before separating and continuing on. I don't remember noticing that in ravens before.
10
