DAY 34 (September 30) A very challenging observation day with essentially no cloud and W winds 50-60kmh gusting up to 90, with most birds high and distant from the ridge. Fortunately the eyes of the 25 visitors to the site contributed significantly to the final total of 147 migrants, with Golden Eagles exceeding 100 for the first time this season and the smaller raptors being scarce (or just impossible to see!). Despite the winds there was a good passerine movement including 722 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches and 86 Common Redpolls. A male Spruce Grouse near the site early this morning was the 85th species recorded there this season. BAEA 1 (25), NOHA 4 (68), SSHA 17 (802), COHA 1 (170), NOGO 3 (32), UA (43), RTHA 5 (196), RLHA 1 (2), GOEA 111 (567), MERL 1 (22), PEFA 1 (11) TOTAL 147 (2009)

DAY 33 (September 29) Winds again westerly starting moderate but becoming strong in the mid afternoon with gusts to 70kmh. The Ci/As cloud was spectacular, especially in the late afternoon. Raptor movement started strongly but diminished as the winds increased. The first bird of the day was our first Rough-legged Hawk of the season, and again the daily total of 178 was dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks and Golden Eagles. At 1224 the second White-throated Swift of the season flew fairly low to the south overhead, and at 1427 a Black Swift passed by even closer equalling the latest date ever for the species at Mount Lorette (1999) and for the Province. OSPR 1 (11), BAEA 1 (24), NOHA 2 (64), SSHA 77 (785), COHA 17(169), NOGO (29), UA 4 (41), RTHA 7 (191), RLHA 1(1), GOEA 64 (456), MERL 2 (21) TOTAL 178 (1862)

DAY 32 (September 28) Winds out of the west all day gusting above 70kmh, but no shortage of cloud: 100% high cloud all day giving excellent viewing conditions. The build up of Golden Eagles continues with 96 passing today – a new season high. Sharp-shinned Hawks show no sign of slowing down and 2 more Peregrines added a little spice to the total of 207 migrant raptors. Despite the high winds some passerines were moving, most notably over 100 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches and a late Wilson’s Warbler. BAEA 2 (23), NOHA 1 (62), SSHA 83 (708), COHA 8 (152), UA 4 (37), RTHA 8 (184), GOEA 96 (392), AMKE 1 (31), MERL 2 (19), PEFA 2 (10) TOTAL 207 (1684)

DAY 31 (September 27) A difficult observation day with clouds progressively disappearing as the birds moved ever higher on moderate westerly winds. Accipiters were again the most common raptors with 91 Sharp-shinned and 36 Cooper’s Hawks out of a total of 165 migrants. A total of only 23 Golden Eagles shows that the main movement has not yet started (but any time now!!). Again, significant movement didn’t start until after 1100, but the early morning was enlivened by the presence of a second Black Bear (around a two year-old black one) and a singing Northern Pygmy Owl. The bird of the day (and probably of the season), however, was a White-throated Swift, both rare and late, that flew to the east of the ridge at 1525. I had the first ever documented record of the species at our Mount Lorette site on September 13, 1996 (9 birds), and the first spring record there on May 12, 2003 (a single bird). That’s what comes of spending an excessive amount of time staring up at the sky! BAEA 5 (21), NOHA 1 (61), SSHA 91 (625), COHA (36), UA (33), RTHA 4 (176), GOEA 23 (296), AMKE 1 (30), MERL 1 (17), UU 1 (6) TOTAL 165 (1477)

DAY 30 (September 26) Despite light upslope winds and the Livingstone Range to the north being in cloud from 0940 to 1550 there was a steady movement of raptors all day after 1100. Sharp-shinned Hawks again dominated, with most birds passing close enough to be aged : 29 adults and just 2 juveniles. Two of the 6 Red-tails were Harlan’s, one being a juvenile intermediate morph. With the exception of the two kinglet species there was a relatively light passerine movement, but the bulging crops of many of the Sharp-shinned Hawks showed that there was enough to go around! Other highlights were the visit of an adult brown Black Bear that contentedly browsed on (appropriately) bearberries, and 5 Common Loons migrating high to the SW. OSPR 2 (10), NOHA 2 (60), SSHA 39 (534), COHA 5 (108), NOGO 1 (27), RTHA 6 (172), GOEA13 (273), MERL 3 (16), TOTAL 71 (1312)

DAY 29 (September 25) Moderate west winds in the morning brought a good movement of Accipiters, while the immoderate winds of the afternoon gusting above 70 kmh brought high-flying Golden and a few Bald Eagles. Despite the wind there was a good passerine movement until mid afternoon and the 580 birds recorded at the site was the highest daily total yet. Many of the migrants were finches, especially Pine Siskins (103) and White-winged Crossbills (83) with a few Pine Grosbeaks, Cassin’s Finches and Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, but more unusual as migrants were 72 Mountain Chickadees moving south in small groups and 2 White-breasted Nuthatches among the south-bound red-breasts. BAEA 3 (16), SSHA 41 (495), COHA 3 (103), NOGO 2 (26), UA 2 (31), BWHA 1 (9), RTHA 4 (166), GOEA 41 (260), PRFA 1 (6) TOTAL 102 (1241)

DAY 28 (September 24) The sky was cloudless most of the day with W to WNW winds averaging 30 kmh. Fortunately I had 7 other observers and between us we tallied 264 migrants including 128 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 91 Golden Eagles. Many of the birds soared overhead giving stunning views against the blue sky. One adult Golden Eagle migrated overhead with the bloody remains of what was probably a hare in its talons, while on another occasion a Merlin fed from its talon while gliding by at 60kmh. BAEA 6 (13), NOHA 2 (58), SSHA 128 (454), COHA 11 (96), NOGO 3 (24), UA 9 (29), RTHA 7 (162), GOEA 91 (219), AMKE 1 (29), MERL 4 (13), PEFA 1 (8), UF 1 (1) TOTAL 1139

DAY 27 (September 23) The best day yet with 96 migrant raptors of 11 species. Highlights were 53 Golden Eagles and 3 Peregrine Falcons. Winds were consistently WNW between 30 and 45kmh and cloud ranged from 0 to 100%. Oddly, the cloudiest time of day, 1200 to 1500, saw the passage of only 8 migrants. This was also the time when we had the most visitors: as soon as they left the clouds cleared and the rush began! There were also good numbers of migrating passerines, and our first high-flying Common Loon moving to the SW. OSPR 1 (8), BAEA 1 (7), NOHA 1 (56), SSHA 19 (326), COHA 3 (85), NOGO 3 (21), UA 3 (20), BWHA 1 (8), RTHA 7 (155), GOEA 53 (128), PEFA 3 (7), PRFA 1 (5) TOTAL 875

DAY 26 (September 22) Another cool day with light winds and frequent soft hail showers until mid-afternoon, but clearing towards evening promising a fine day tomorrow. Movement was slow with only 22 migrants, but involving 9 species. The wintry morning weather was appropriately graced with the first appearance of a Common Redpoll male and shortly after with a female Pine Grosbeak. NOHA 1 (55), SSHA 8 (307), COHA 5 (82), NOGO 1 (18), BWHA 1(7), RTHA 3 (148), GOEA 1 (75), MERL 1 (9), PEFA 1(4) TOTAL 779

DAY 25 (September 21) Again the day started with the peaks in cloud, but they quickly cleared and light to moderate westerlies provided reasonable movement of 31 migrants for a few hours. By mid-afternoon, however, a violent thunderstorm rolled in producing heavy hail for 40 minutes and reducing the temperature to 0C, followed by wet snow, sleet and finally heavy rain: I gave up! OSPR 1 (7), SSHA 15(299), NOGO 3 (17), BWHA 1 (6), RTHA 2 (145), GOEA 9 (74) TOTAL 757

DAY 24 (September 20) West winds of 40-60 kmh finally blew the clouds off the ridge by late morning and allowed a sparse movement of 26 raptors over half of which were Golden Eagles. The wind, cool temperatures and early low cloud combined to produce the lowest daily total species count (14) yet. SSHA 5 (284), COHA 1 (77), NOGO 2 (14), UA 1 (17), RTHA 3 (143), GOEA 14 (65), TOTAL 726

DAY 23 (September 19) Winds shifted from W to E around 1400 bringing low cloud after 1500 and steady rain after 1540. Movement was concentrated between 1200 and 1500, with the 47 migrants including 32 Sharp-shinned Hawks and an adult Red-tailed [“Harlan’s”] Hawk: for the first time adult birds outnumbered immature birds. Songbirds were scarce but included a Chestnut-backed Chickadee (a rare bird in Alberta, even in the SW which is the only part of the Province that they have been seen), and the first flock of 16 south-bound Bohemian Waxwings. SSHA 32 (279), COHA 3 (76), NOGO 1 (12), UA 1 (16), RTHA 6 (140), GOEA 4 (51), TOTAL 700

DAY 22 (September 18) A slow but steady movement over most of the day yielded 47 migrants of which 14 were Golden Eagles. W to NW winds gusting to 50 kmh prevailed all day, and a mixture of Ac, As and Ci cloud made finding the birds relatively easy. This was the first really clear day of the count with no heat haze, smoke, low cloud or precipitation and the view south in the evening towards Chief Mountain and the mountains of Glacier and Waterton National Parks was stunning. OSPR 1(6) SSHA 15 (347), COHA 2 (73), NOGO 2 (11), UA 1 (15), RTHA 12 (134), GOEA 14 (47), TOTAL 653

DAY 21 (September 17) The day started with the ridge mainly clear and cool (-2C) but the cloud quickly formed again and I spent 3.5 hours inside it! The afternoon was much better with west winds to 40 kmh producing 32 migrants and the highest Golden Eagle count so far. The fresh snow in the morning showed tracks of a Bobcat and 3 Snowshoe Hares near the site. NOHA 1 (54), SSHA 6 (323), NOGO 1 (9), UA 1 (14), RTHA 9 (122), GOEA 13 (33), [PRFA 1].

DAY 20 (September 16) There was steady snow to 1130, but even when it stopped the ridge didn’t clear except for brief periods. I observed from below the ridge and only saw one harrier and a sharp-shinned Hawk.

DAY 19 (September 15) The Livingstone Range cleared enough to lure me out with the temperature at 0C and very light winds. For much of the day I was in cloud but brief periods of clearing yielded 2 migratory Sharp-shinned Hawks and a few flocks of migrating American Robins. At 1600 the wind turned to the north with rain quickly becoming heavy and turning to snow leading to a rapid retreat to the valley.

(September 14) No observation: rain and snow higher up all day with all ridges obscured.

DAY 18 (September 13) Light to moderate upslope winds for most of the day and cool with temperatures reaching 9C, and 3C at the end of the day. The peaks were obscured for a couple of hours in the morning suggesting that a northern system forecast to arrive later in the day had come early, but they cleared and provided several hours of reasonable conditions and 30 migrants: OSPR 1, NOHA 1, SSHA 12, COHA 2, NOGO 1, BWHA 1, RTHA 8, GOEA 3, PRFA 1. The two resident adult Golden Eagles were also seen but there was no sign of the remaining juvenile. There was a fairly good passerine movement in the morning including 59 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 29 White-crowned Sparrows and the first American Tree Sparrows. The forecast front arrived around 1800 bringing heavy rain and the prospects for the next couple of days are not good.

DAY 17 (September 12) Light upslope winds in the morning and most of the afternoon gave way at 1700 to moderate westerly winds. Again, clear skies were a problem until the afternoon. The total of 72 migrants was the highest yet: OSPR 1, BAEA 1, NOHA 7, SSHA 31, COHA 8, NOGO 1, UA 2, RTHA 17, GOEA 3, UU 1. Adult Accipiters and Red-tailed Hawks are becoming more common, but juvenile birds are still predominant. Again there was a good passerine movement with three subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco present (montanus, cismontanus and hyemalis). The first waterfowl for the season were 12 Canada Geese flying high to the west at 0910.

DAY 16 (September 11) Moderate to strong westerlies and no cloud until mid afternoon made viewing challenging. The total of 28 migrants included the first “Harlan’s Hawk” (adult dark morph): SSHA 9, COHA 4, NOGO 3, UA 1, RTHA 7, GOEA 2, MAKE 1, UU 1. There was a good songbird movement including 42 Red-breasted Nuthatches and our first Hermit Thrush for the season, and the total 434 birds counted was the highest yet.

DAY 15 (September 10) Again strong westerlies all day but mercifully almost no smoke. Much of the movement was very high, but the eyes of 13 visitors to the site helped the count to 38 migrants along with 2 non-migratory Prairy Falcons and the resident Golden Eagles. One of the juvenile birds appears to have dispersed away from the home range as I have only seen a single young bird with its parents for the last couple of days. BAEA 2, NOHA 2, SSHA 19, COHA 3, NOGO 1, UA 1, RTHA 8, AMKE 2

DAY 14 (September 9) West winds gusting up to 60 kmh brought a lot of smoke from BC. The total of 33 migrants was mainly amassed before 1500, with the highlight being our first dark morph Broad-winged Hawk of the season (an adult). Late in the day we watched a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk hunting the windward side of the ridge catch 3 mice within 40 minutes. In each case it ate the animal from its talon while hanging statically in the wind at ridge level, while at the same time looking for its next victim. The count was: OSPR 1, NOHA 4, SSHA 9, COHA 5, BWHA 1, RTHA 9, AMKE 3, MERL 1

DAY 13 (September 8) Again a pleasant but smoky day with a high of 21C and light W winds to 1325 followed by light to moderate E winds. Although the total migrants was only 40 I saw 12 species of raptor including the first Swainson’s Hawks and first columbarius Merlin: NOHA 1, SSHA 19, COHA 2, NOGO 1, UA 1, BWHA 1, SWHA 2, RTHA 2, GOEA 2sa, AMKE 4, MERL 3, PEFA 1 and PRFA 1.

DAY 12 (September 7) At last a day of over 50 migrants! 51 actually, moving steadily throughout the day on light upslope winds until a thunderstorm to the north in the late afternoon cut of the supply. Included in the total were the first Broad-winged Hawks and Peregrine Falcons of the season. All species still show a great predominance of juvenile birds. The count was NOHA 11, SSHA 13, COHA 3, BWHA 2, RTHA 13, UB 1, GOEA 3, AMKE 2, MERL 1 AND PEFA 2. on the dickybird (Accipiter food!) front the first Cassin’s Finch flew over, the second Palm Warbler perched a metre away and almost as close was a still brightly plumaged male Cape May Warbler.

DAY 11 (September 6). Light winds from the east all day with noticeable smoke haze. A fairly good day for SSHA but not much else in the way of migrant raptors. I did witness two spectacular resident GOEA interactions, however. In the first an adult was gliding south past the site when it went into a vertical stoop and following it down I saw that it was aimed at a juvenile SSHA, which it then pursued in horizontal flight at great speed and was almost on it when they went out of sight below the cliff. About 90 minutes later I was watching an adult and a juvenile soaring to the northeast of the site when the young bird suddenly harried the adult which immediately dropped a prey item (a SSHA?!) at which the juvenile closed its wings and dropped vertically after it, recovering it in mid-air about 100m below where it had been dropped. Wow!. Today’s count was 30 migrants: NOHA 3, SSHA 20, COHA 2, NOGO 1, RTHA 1, AMKE 1, MERL 1, UU1. New species for the site were Red-naped Sapsucker, Blue Jay (3), Black-billed Magpie (5) and Yellow Warbler, bringing the seasonal species total to 61.

DAY 10 (September 5). Even warmer (24C) and almost no wind until the afternoon, when a few raptors (11) moved through: OSPR 1, SSHA 5, COHA 1, RTHA 3, MERL 1. The weather is so good I suspect the birds may start moving north again! Again a good early movement of passerines, including a young male Black-headed Grosbeak and a Common Yellowthroat looking quite out of place in dwarf Douglas Fir on a mountain ridge. A family group of 6 Dusky Grouse strutted about the site for much of the day.

DAY 9 (September 4). Another warm day (high 23C) with upslope (easterly) winds producing 43 migrants (BAEA 1, NOHA 10, SSHA 16, COHA 6, UA 1, RTHA 4, GOEA 3 (2sa, 1j), AMKE 1, PRFA 1). The highlight of the day was the 3 GOEA soaring with 5 NOHA after a long period of seeing nothing. New passerines for the site included Western Wood-Pewee, Least Flycatcher and White-breasted Nuthatch.

DAY 8 (September 3). Again cloudless until late afternoon when a little high cloud developed to the west. There was a strong passerine movement along the ridge in the early morning including about 60 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Townsend’s Warblers, a Palm Warbler, Wilson’s Warblers etc, American Robins, Townsends Solitaires, Mountain Bluebirds, lots of Red-breasted Nuthatches, both kinglet species and a female Lazuli Bunting amongst others. Raptors were quite good too with 45 migrants (the highest daily count so far): Bald Eagle (2j: the first for the season), NOHA 7, SSHA 14, COHA 10, UA 3, RTHA 7 and AMKE 2. Almost all the raptors are juveniles: only occasional adult SSHA, COHA and RTHA so far.

DAY 7 (September 2). Again not even a trace of cloud, but despite the sunshine and a high of 24C the migration was fairly dull: just 13 migrants (SSHA 3, COHA 2, RTHA 2, GOEA 1j, AMKE 3, PRFA 1 (an apparent migrant) and UU1. There was a small movement of Grey-crowned Rosy Finches (21) in the morning.

DAY 6 (September 1). A totally cloudless day but at least yesterday’s snow has cleared the smoke for now. 35 migrants (NOHA 2, SSHA 7, COHA 10, UA 2, RTHA 10, AMKE 3, UU 1), together with a non migrating OSPR (with fish) at 20:00, and the now usual resident GOEAs and NOGOs.

DAY 5 (August 31). 40 minutes of snow in the morning reduced temperatures to 0C, but things later improved with only occasional rain, hail and sleet. 29 migrants including the first Golden Eagles (2sa and 1juv). Other migrants were NOHA 1, SSHA 11, COHA 2, RTHA 8, UB 2, FEHA 1 (a light morph adult), MERL 1 (richardsonii) and non-migratory NOGO (3) and PRFA (1) along with the GOEA family group.

DAY 4 (August 30). Another slow day with 6 migrants (SSHA 3, COHA 1, AMKE 2), but again winds were a fairly constant 30-50kmh all day.

DAY 3 (August 29). A slow day with only 4 migrants (SSHA 2, COHA 1, UA 1), but I saw 3 NOGO (1a and 2j), that I first took as migrants, but subsequently realized that they were a local family group. Winds from WNW gust at times to 70kmh may have something to do with the poor movement!

DAY 2 (August 28). A surprisingly good movement of 42 migrants (NOHA 1, SSHA 18, COHA 5, UA1, RTHA 12, UB1, AMKE 4) although it was essentially over by 15:00. High of 25C and still smoky.

DAY 1 (August 27). A warm day to start: high of 23C with W-WNW winds to 20kmh and smoke haze. 20 migrants (NOHA 2, SSHA12, COHA 4, RTHA 2) all but one was juvenile. No migrant Golden Eagles, but a family group of 2 adults and 2 juveniles appeared regularly above the mountains to the north. Good to see that I am sharing the site with a family of 3 Rock Wrens.