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.
10/04/2021
Observers: Lori Anderson Glenn Webber
07:45 AM
07:30 PM
-3.5 C to +18 C
What a gorgeous sunny fall day this was! Continuous strings of Canada Geese painted the morning sky as they made their way to warmer wintering grounds, although they might have been second-guessing themselves with these conditions.
For most of the day, low winds blew at ground level and enough wind at the ridges to give us plenty of eagles and other raptors to observe. Ridge winds between 20-40 km/h and gusts between 40- 65 km/h. We had our first eagle at 9:14 and the last few at 19:22 after sunset. A light layer of altostratus and at times cirrus (mares' tails and mackerel scales) formed the backdrop for the eagle path during most of the day, which made locating easy but identification an arduous task. The majority of raptors showed up either at Mt. Patrick or the Northern Fisher range and anywhere in between.
107
14 Bald Eagles, 1 Northern Harrier, 7 Sharp-Shinned Hawks, 2 Cooper's Hawks, 4 Northern Goshawks, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, 2 Peregrine Falcons, 3 unID Falcons, and 4 unID Eagles.
12:00 to 14:00 was the most abundant period with 59 migrants.
146
1 Golden Eagle , 1 Northern Goshawk , 1 Red-tailed Hawk.
369 Canada Goose, 80 American Robin, 7 White-winged Crossbill, 1 Northern Flicker, 5 Common Raven, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 20 Bohemian Waxwing.
1 Red Squirrel, 1 White-tailed Deer.
3
