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.
03/07/2022
Observers: Lori Anderson, Glenn Webber
07:00 AM
11:30 AM
-9 to -5 C
In spite of the heavy snowfall warning, we decided to make a go of it and managed to get in 4.5 hours of observation. The Eastern ridges were clear and only 10% of the western ridges were obscured to the south. During the first hours, beautiful cirrostratus patterns filled the sky overhead. On the ground, the winds were mainly calm with some occasional movement up to 5km/h. At 10:00, a front appeared off in the distance at the north end of the valley. The WSW winds started picking up gradually and clouds from the incoming storm started overtaking the ridges of Mt. Lorette and Mt. Patrick. At 11:00, the front broke its way in and the conditions deteriorated rapidly. We ended up having to flee from the site when heavy snow was blown in horizontally on gusts of up to 60km/h.
2 adults
One golden eagle at 8:30 and another at 11:00.
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1 Bald Eagle (adult), 1 Northern Goshawk
1 Pileated Woodpecker, 2 Boreal Chickadees, 2 Canada Jays, 1 Bohemian Waxwing, 6 Ravens
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