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.
10/02/2021
Observers: Blake Weis, Annie Finch, Tim Dickson, Theresa Gawron, James Bannon
07:45 AM
07:30 PM
7C - 15C
It was warm but with strong wind gusting up to 60 km/h in the afternoon. The heavy cloud cover was helpful for spotting migrants as most of them flew extremely high over the Fisher Range, but made ageing impossible in most cases.
118 (34 adult, 4 sub-adult, 7 juvenile, 73 indetermininate)
1 Osprey, 5 Bald Eagle, 7 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 Cooper's Hawk, 3 Northern Goshakwk, 2 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Rough-legged Hawk, 1 Merlin, 1 Unidentified Eagle
4-5 pm and 5-6pm with 23 migrants each
140
1 Bald Eagle, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Northern Goshawk, 1 Golden Eagle, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Common Merganser, 1 Ruffed Grouse, 1 Clark's Nutcracker, 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 3 Townsend's Solitaire, 130 American Robin, 63 White-winged Crossbill, 41 Pine Siskin, 1 Pacific Wren, 1 Song Sparrow
5
