Date: 10/24/2016

Number: 1

Mount Lorette Golden Eagles and Raptor Count, 2016 Fall

www.eaglewatch.ca
PETER SHERRINGTON
Introduction: This is the 25th consecutive year that Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation (RMERF) has conducted at least one fall count in the Front Ranges of the Alberta Rocky Mountains. In 1992 an extensive reconnaissance count of 33 days was made at Mount Lorette that produced 2661 migrant raptors of which 2044 were Golden Eagles and demonstrated that the Alberta Front Ranges were a significant flyway for the species. Between 1993 and 2005 full-season counts of 75-101 days were conducted there with the exceptions of 1997 when a full count was conducted at Plateau Mountain about 90 km to the SSE and 2002 when circumstances limited observations at Mount Lorette to only 14 days.
From 2006 to 2009 the principal observation site moved to the Piitaistakis-South Livingstone ridge, which is the southern culmination of the Alberta Front Ranges, near the Crowsnest Pass during which time daily comparative counts of between 40 and 45 days were conducted at Mount Lorette coinciding with the main movement of Golden Eagles. In 2010 Mount Lorette again became the principal observation site with counts conducted over a standard period of September 20 to November 15. This 2016 Fall season Cliff Hansen is again organizing the count and if you are interested in visiting the site or volunteering as an assistant (no previous experience needed: just good eyes, enthusiasm and a pair of binoculars) or as an Observer please contact Cliff at 403-673-2422.
Peter Sherrington will also be conducting a count on Vicki Ridge located 4.5 km WNW of the Hamlet of Beaver Mines in SW Alberta, and Vance Mattson will again be watching at his Steeples site which is located on the east side of the Kootenay Valley (Rocky Mountain Trench) 25 km NE of Cranbrook, British Columbia. Information on all the RMERF sites and reports of previous years’ spring and fall counts may be found on our website www.eaglewatch.ca.

October 24 [Day 34] Mount Lorette
(Terry Waters, assisted by Patrick Farley, Caroline Lambert, Jim St. Laurent and Jennifer Waters) 0830-1830. The temperature at 0830 was -4C, it rose to a high of 8C at 1600 and was still 7C at the end of observation. Ground winds were SW 5km/h to 1300 then switched to NE 5 gusting to 15 km/h, while ridge winds were moderate SW all day. Cloud cover was 100%
stratus to 1500 after which it changed to cirrus with scattered cumulus that reduced to 50% at the end of the day. Apart from the west being 20-30% obscured between 1100 and 1200, the ridges were
clear all day. With the exception of an adult Peregrine Falcon that flew low to the south above the river at 1330, the entire flight comprised 22 Golden Eagles (14a, 2sa, 5j, 1u) that were seen between
1210 and 1730. All the birds were located gliding high above the northern end of the Fisher Range apart from 12 birds that moved from Mount Lorette to the Fisher Range between 1600 and 1700, which
was also the highest hourly count. Only 2 eagles were seen before 1500. Other birds seen included 1 Northern Pygmy-Owl, 8 Snow Buntings, 1 Western Meadowlark and 60 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches.
A Mountain Goat was at the northern end of the Fisher Range, and a school party of 33 grade 3 and 4 students and staff from Louis Riel Elementary School in Calgary visited the site.

10 hours (362.8) GOEA 22 (2274), PEFA 1 (8) TOTAL 23 (2635)


Vicki Ridge [Day 21] (Peter Sherrington) 1030-1730 (observation from ridge-top), with supplementary information from Gord Petersen (1515-1800). The temperature was 6C at 1100, reached a high of 11.5C at 1800 and was still 10C at the end of observation. It was flat calm until 1200 when occasional puffs of wind to 5 km/h mainly from the W were detectable. These conditions persisted to 1535 when winds became W 3-8 gusting to 15 km/h and it was calm again at the end of observation. Cloud cover was initially 100% uniform grey stratus which persisted to 1300 when it began to thin break up and for
the rest of the day cloud cover was a mixture of 90-70% altostratus, cirrus, altocumulus and cumulus that allowed hazy sunshine and excellent observing conditions. Only 2 migrants were seen before 1320,a juvenile Northern Goshawk at 1059 and an adult Bald Eagle at 1253, both of which flapped low and laboriously to the south. Clearing skies and light W winds after 1300 produced a fairly strong and
varied raptor movement, however, and the final count was 64 birds of 8 species. The flight was 5 adult Bald Eagles, 1 juvenile female Northern Harrier, 11 Sharp-shinned Hawks (9a, 2u), 5 Northern Goshawks (2a, 3j), 6 Red-tailed Hawks (4 calurus: 1a light morph and 3 (2a, 1j) dark morphs; and 2a dark morph harlani), 20 Rough-legged Hawks (19 light and 1 dark), 15 Golden Eagles (12a, 1sa,1j, 1u) and 1 adult male Peregrine Falcon. Most birds moved high above or to the east of the ridge and the busiest hours saw movement of 18 birds between 1400 and 1500, and 19 between 1500 and 1600. The last bird, a Bald Eagle, flew high to the south at 1716. Between 1515 and 1800 Gord Petersen was again videoing migrating raptors at a site just west of Vicki Ridge but the only migrants he saw were a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and 5 light morph Rough-legged Hawks which moved between 1622 and 1657, which are included in the final totals. Other birds on the ridge include 18 Bohemian Waxwings, 2 male Dark-eyed Juncos of the race J.h.hyemalis, 860 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew high to the south in several flocks, the season’s first Pine Grosbeak, a female, and 48 Red Crossbills; while lower to
the west Gord had a singing Northern Pygmy-Owl and a Pileated Woodpecker.

7 hours (124.75) BAEA 5 (64), NOHA 1 (8), SSHA 11 (443), NOGO 5 (41), RTHA 6 (101), RLHA 20 (139), GOEA 15 (873), PEFA 1 (7) TOTAL 64 (1782)


Steeples (Vance Mattson) 1515-1830. The ridges were clear all day but Vance could not get to the site until 1515 when the temperature was 7C, it was calm and cloud cover was 20-100% thin altostratus
with minor cirrus and lenticular. A total of 6 migrants were seen between 1642 and 1745: 1 juvenile Northern Harrier, 1u Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 light morph calurus Red-tailed Hawks (1a, 1j) and 2 Golden Eagles (1a, 1sa). The subadult Golden Eagle was seen perched on a near-vertical rock face at 1720 and was still there when Vance left so it was presumably roosting there at the end of the day. The calm
conditions meant that the birds flapped continuously as they moved to the south. Non-migrants were an adult Golden Eagle and an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk.

3.25 hours (95.75) NOHA 1 (7), SSHA 1 (102), RTHA 2 (44), GOEA 2 (166) TOTAL 6 (527)




MOUNT LORETTE SUMMARY COUNT (September 20 to November 15)



DAYS 34

HOURS 362.8



TURKEY VULTURE (TUVU) 0

OSPREY (OSPR) 5

BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 93

NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 8

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 125

COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 9

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 27

Accipiter sp. (UA) 12

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 5

SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 1

RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 26

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 1

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 15

Buteo sp. (UB) 6

GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 2274

Eagle sp. (UE) 2

AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 4

MERLIN (MERL) 6

GYRFALCON (GYRF) 0

PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 8

PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 1

Falco sp. (UF) 1

Unidentified Raptor (UU) 5



TOTAL 2635

Turner Valley, AB

Latitude: 51 Longitude: -115.1

Observed by: Claire
Contact Observer

The observer's e-mail address will not be disclosed.
Contact will be made through a web-based form.