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.
11/01/2021
Observers: Lori Anderson, Blake Weis.
07:30 AM
06:30 PM
-15C at 7:30, +3 at 14:00 and -3 at the end of the day.
The cloudless morning was bitter cold. When the long-awaited Sun finally touched the valley at 10:00, everything glittered like diamonds on the frosty white land, and steam evaporated on the river creating a fantasy dreamland! There was little to no wind at ground level and the ridges only received between 6 and 17 km/h SW/SSW all day with no gusts. Needless to say, there was very little raptor movement and much flapping from the few who dared make the trek. The nice thing was that we got some closer views of the eagles as they travelled from Lorette to the Fisher Range.
8
3 Bald Eagles ( 1 Adult, 1 Subadult Type I and 1 Juvenile) 1 Coopers Hawk.
From 14:00 to 15:00 we had 4 Golden Eagles.
12
2 Goshawks spent some time sitting in the trees across the river. 1 juvenile and 1 adult.
6 Ravens, 5 American Tree Sparrows, 1 Townsend's Solitaire, 1 Mountain Bluebird (female), 1 Pine Grosbeak, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 Golden-Crowned Kinglets, 4 Canada Jays, 4 Common Redpolls, 6 Dark-Eyed Juncos, 1 Duck sp.
None
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