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.
10/18/2021
Observers: Lori Anderson, Glenn Webber
08:00 AM
06:45 PM
-3.5C - +5C
At the onset of the count, fog came rolling in from the north end of the valley and totally covered the western ridges until 12:00. All day the valley seemed like a battleground for the strong threatening winds from the North and the Western sky holding its ground with low Southwestern winds. At ground level, winds blew from the north with gusts of 30 km/h. For whatever reason, it was not a Flying day and we only found seven migrants between 11:00 and 15:00, but we did witness a ferocious fight between two American Dippers on the river!
3 (Adults)
1 Red-tailed Hawk (Calurus Juvenile), 1 Coopers Hawk, 1 Merlin, 1 Rough-legged Hawk (Dark morph Juvenile)
14:00-15:00 2 Golden Eagles, 1 coopers Hawk and 1 Rough-legged Hawk.
7
2 Northern Goshawks (Adults).
4 flocks of Canada Geese (218), Common Merganser 9, Boreal Chickadee 2, Common Raven 5, Canada Jay 2, Black-billed Magpie 1, American Dipper 2.
2 Red Squirrels.
0
