DAY 61 (October 31) The temperature rose to -10C and the W winds generally stayed below 40 kmh producing what, after yesterday, seemed a pleasant day. After 4 hours of light snow at the beginning of the day, cloud cover was 40-70% Cu giving excellent observation conditions. As yesterday, migration became stronger as the day progressed with 42 of the 110 migrants occurring between 1600 and 1700 and the last Golden Eagle passing at 1709. The total of 27 Bald Eagles is the highest so far this season, and the 78 Golden Eagles is the highest ever count for this date. There was little passerine movement, with Common Redpoll (66) being the only species to move in any numbers. BAEA 27 (263), COHA 1 (220), NOGO 1 (125), RLHA 3 (118), GOEA 78 (3746) TOTAL 110 (6276)

DAY 60 (October 30) It was a very nasty day to be at 1900 m! The temperature started at -20C and slowly rose to -12C under almost cloudless skies, but the wind also increased from the west gusting to 60 kmh by late afternoon. With 25 cm of fresh snow at the site, blowing snow was a continuous problem after 1100. Golden Eagle movement started early with a single bird at 0743, but was slow until late afternoon when 19 were counted from 1600 to 1700. There were few other
raptors but a Sharp-shinned Hawk is now getting late. As expected there were several skeins of Canada Geese, involving 551 birds, moving south and west following the sudden drop in temperature, but what was not expected was a single Cackling Goose flying with 44 Canada Geese at 1025. Also notable was a single flock of 65 Common Ravens flying to the west over the site at 1715, presumably heading to a roost. BAEA 3 (236), SSHA 1 (1244), NOGO 2 (124), GOEA 44 (3668) TOTAL 50 (6166)

October 29 No Observation: heavy snow all day, starting at 0700 MST. Note that the clocks changed early today and times from now on will be Mountain Standard Time (MST) and not Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) as previously cited.

DAY 59 (October 28) Winds were again from the west all day gusting 70-80kmh in the morning and up to 110 kmh by late afternoon. Golden Eagle movement started at 0900 and was strong all day with the highest hourly count being 34 between 1300 and 1400. Bald Eagles also moved throughout the day with the count of 22 being the second highest so far this season. The combined species count is now 6116 and surpasses the previous highest RMERF count of 5979 set at the Mount Lorette site in 2000, when 4753 of the birds counted were Golden Eagles. Because of the wind passerine migration was low along the ridge and included 268 Common Redpolls, the highest daily count so far. The barometer fell 1 hPa an hour after 1200 and tomorrow promises an influx of arctic air with low temperatures and snow. BAEA 22 (233), SSHA 1 (1243), NOGO 7 (122), RTHA 1 (283), RLHA 2 (115), GOEA 193 (3624), UE 1 (3) TOTAL 227 (6116)

DAY 58 (October 27) The west winds gusting 40-60 kmh in the morning and early afternoon seemed like a breeze after yesterday, but by late afternoon the gusts were above 80 kmh again. Movement was relatively sparse and sporadic all day and probably reflected deteriorating weather conditions to the north ahead of an advancing arctic front. There was a late movement of Bald Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks with the last bird passing south at 1818. Bald Eagle numbers should continue to increase as northern water bodies start to freeze. Passerine migrants included 198 Bohemian Waxwings, 222 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches and 130 Common Redpolls, and a male Downy Woodpecker was the first woodpecker at the site for two weeks. BAEA 20 (211), NOGO 1 (115), RLHA 6 (113), GOEA 32 (3431), UU 1 (14) TOTAL 60 (5889)

DAY 57 (October 26) Westerly winds were even stronger than yesterday, gusting to 90 kmh for most of the day and on occasion even higher. The temperature briefly reached 3C and cloud conditions were again favourable for observation. Golden Eagle migration started at 0830 and was steady all morning with 62 birds moving before noon. Afternoon movement was more sporadic with birds travelling in groups of up to 12 passing in a few minutes, but with long period with no birds at all. The Prairie Falcon was seen hunting on a couple of occasions, including an unsuccessful pass through a flock of Bohemian Waxwings, before finally moving south late in the day. A small flock of Grey-crowned Rosy Finches feeding in the lee of the ridge early in the morning included a single bird of the coastal race (L.t.littoralis: “Hepburn’s Rosy Finch”), a first for the site. BAEA 8 (191), NOGO 4 (114), RLHA 1 (107), GOEA 137 (3399), MERL 1 (43), PRFA 1 (16) TOTAL 152 (5829)

DAY 56 (October 25) Winds were westerly all day increasing in strength and gusting to 80-90 kmh by late afternoon, which combined with a temperature of 0C made observation rather uncomfortable. Golden Eagle migration was again steady all day between 0854 and 1814 with the main movement between 1500 and 1800 (68 birds). As is the norm with high wind days there were few other raptors, but a large falcon at 1608 may have been a Gyrfalcon. Despite the wind, finch migration continued with 285 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 42 Pine Grosbeaks and 64 Common Redpolls moving past the site, generally at high speed. A late single Ruby-crowned Kinglet was notable and 3 European Starlings were the first to be seen at ridge level. BAEA 9 (183), NOGO 3 (110), GOEA 156 (3262), UF 1 (2) TOTAL 169 (5677)

DAY 55 (October 24) Moderate to strong W-WNW winds all day produced a steady migration of Golden Eagles between 0830 and 1804 but few other raptors. Cloud conditions were again generally kind to observers, although a high of only 4C with 60 kmh winds found us somewhat thermally challenged! The Golden Eagle seen at 1343 put the seasonal count at 3,000 at last, while the bird at 1622 was the 100,000th counted at our principal observation site each season since 1992: and it only took us 23,255.5 hours to do it! The combined-species count for the season is now above 5500 so we have now averaged 100 migrants a day for each active count day this season. Again there was a fairly strong finch migration including 410 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches and 95 Common Redpolls. BAEA 8 (174), SSHA 1 (1242), NOGO 5 (107), GOEA 224 (3106) TOTAL 238 (5508)

DAY 54 (October 23) After yesterday’s late movement I was expecting an early start today, but by noon only 6 migrants had passed. Strong movement started at noon, however, and 57 Golden Eagles were seen between 1200 and 1300. The momentum gradually subsided throughout the afternoon with only 3 Golden Eagles after 1800. Northern Goshawks continue to move in good numbers with many juvenile birds, and a few Cooper’s, Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed Hawks are still going south. The first 2.5 hours of observation had 100% Sc cloud cover but no raptors, while the big movement took place against a cloudless sky…ouch! Winds were again mainly moderate W to WNW. A single (probable) Ring-billed Gull flying high to the west was the first for the season. BAEA 6 (166), SSHA 2 (1241), COHA (219), NOGO 11 (102), RTHA 1 (282), RLHA 2 (106), GOEA 124 (2882) TOTAL 148 (5270)

DAY 53 (October 22) Winds were fairly constant moderate to strong WNW all day and it was cloudless until after 1400 when Ci and later lenticular Ac developed. Again movement was slow in the morning but gathered momentum throughout the afternoon with maximum passage occurring between 1400 and 1600 producing 57 birds of the total of 148 migrants of 9 species. Golden Eagle movement continued to after 1830 with 17 birds moving high to the south after 1800 against a magnificent backdrop of sculpted lenticular clouds and a flaming sunset behind the mountains to the west. We recorded the first Gyrfalcons of the season (both grey morphs), and the Golden Eagle at 1335 was the 5,000th migrant of the season: it was immediately upstaged by the simultaneous appearance of a Steller’s Jay that perched close to us in perfect light! Many thanks to Tim Grier who spent a couple of days cutting steps and providing a rope handrail for the steeper portions of the access trail: the 300 m climb to the site is now a little easier. BAEA 14 (160), SSHA 3 (1239), COHA 1 (217), NOGO 10 (91), RTHA 1 (281), RLHA 3 (104), GOEA 113 (2758), GYRF 2 (2), PRFA 1 (15), TOTAL 148 (5122)

DAY 52 (October 21) Winds were light and very variable all day with cumulus cloud providing excellent viewing conditions. Movement was sporadic from 1115 to 1500, when there was a moderate snowfall for 30 minutes and it looked like it was going to be a repeat of yesterday’s weather. Conditions, however, rapidly improved and 46 birds moved between 1600 and 1800. Because of the calm conditions the birds moved slowly and often soared: at one time there were 5 Bald Eagles, a Rough-legged Hawk and 2 Golden Eagles soaring together near the ridge. The morning brought a fairly good passerine movement including 916 Bohemian Waxwings, and other birds included a Common Loon, 28 Canada Geese and the now regularly occurring Northern Pygmy-Owl. BAEA 21 (146), SSHA 4 (1236), NOGO 2 (81), RLHA 18 (101), GOEA 31 (2645), TOTAL 76 (4974)

DAY 51 (October 20) The day looked promising early with just 20% cloud, but the situation changed in mid morning when E winds brought low cloud and then sporadic snow for the rest of the day. Very brief clearing periods gave hope of movement, but only a single Golden Eagle and 2 Rough-legged Hawks came through. Despite the weather, however, passerines were quite common including 380 Bohemian Waxwings, 142 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 65 Pine Grosbeaks and the first Snow Bunting of the season. RLHA 2 (83), GOEA 1 (2614) TOTAL 3 (4898)

DAY 50 (October 19) Winds again were WNW to W but only gusting to 60 kmh with a temperature high of 3.5C, and the cloud cover was excellent for viewing all day. Again, all but 4 of the total count of 172 raptors were Golden Eagles, with most of them being adults (146). At 1608 one of the adult birds passed close enough to see a red patagial tag on its left wing. Unlike yesterday, the movement was strongest between 1000 and 1500, with 80 Golden Eagles before noon, then decreased in the late afternoon as cloud again descended on the Livingstone Range to the north. A Steller’s Jay was the 90th species for the site this season. BAEA 1 (125), SSHA 1 (1232), GOEA 168 (2613), PRFA 2 (14) TOTAL 172 (4895)

DAY 49 (October 18) Movement was very sporadic in the morning as sub-zero temperatures and winds gusting to 80 kmh made observation somewhat uncomfortable. The afternoon saw the temperature soar to 1C and Golden Eagles started moving steadily after 1400 and continued to 1816 despite low cloud over the Livingstone Range to the north after 1640. All but 4 of the 128 raptors recorded were Golden Eagles, and of these 99 were adult birds. Finches were by far the most common passerines with 30 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 32 Pine Grosbeaks and 60 Common Redpolls counted. BAEA 2 (124), NOGO 1 (79), GOEA 124 (2445), PRFA 1 (12) TOTAL 128 (4723)

DAY 48 (October 17) This was the first observation day this season where the temperature failed to reach the freezing point (-5C to -1C). There was 5 cm of fresh snow at the site this morning and we were obscured in cloud until around 1400. As soon as the mountains to the north cleared, however, a Golden Eagle was in the air and moving south and by the end of the day we had counted 32 eagles moving on moderate SW to WNW winds. Because of the weather there was only a relatively thin passerine movement including 46 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches in 3 flocks. NOGO 1 (78), RLHA 1 (81), GOEA 32 (2321) TOTAL 34 (4595).

October 16 No observation: snow all day with all mountains obscured.

DAY 47 (October 15) The day began with SW winds gusting to 80 kmh with the mountains obscured and light rain or drizzle. Things, however, improved in the afternoon, with the mountains clearing and the winds dropping to moderate with occasional gusts to 50 kmh. Of the 61 migrant raptors, 52 were Golden Eagles with 6 other species making only cameo appearances today. A Brown Creeper was the 87th species for the site this season. BAEA 1 (122), SSHA 1 (1231), COHA 1 (216), NOGO 2 (77), RTHA 1 (280), RLHA 3 (80), GOEA 52 (2289) TOTAL 61 (4561)

DAY 46 (October 14) West winds were light in the morning and progressively become stronger in the afternoon, and the Ac and As cloud cover provided an excellent backdrop to the 188 migrant raptors seen. Movement was steady all day, but faded away after 1500. Of the 143 Golden Eagles seen, 33 occurred from 1200-1300. As usual, the strong winds reduced the number of songbirds recorded, but there was still a fairly strong movement of Grey-crowned Rosy Finches (82) and White-winged Crossbills (48). The total of 38 visitors to the site was the highest yet and included a 4H group from Pincher Creek. BAEA 9 (121), SSHA 16 (1230), NOGO 7 (75), RTHA 3 (279), RLHA 8 (77), GOEA 143 (2237), MERL 1 (42), PRFA 1 (11) TOTAL 188 (4500)

DAY 45(October 13) George Halmazna has taken over as Principal Observer while I attend the Canmore Eagle Festival for a couple of days. With a good cloud cover and a relatively warm 8C conditions were good for observation, and winds were light to moderate NE early becoming light SE in the afternoon. Movement was very slow in the morning, however, with only 3 Golden Eagles before noon but picked up somewhat in the afternoon to produce a total of 134 raptor migrants of which 62 were Golden Eagles. The 32 Sharp-shinned Hawks put their total count over 1200 birds. The most common passerine migrant was White-winged Crossbill with over 300 birds moving south past the site, and yet another White-breasted Nuthatch made an appearance. BAEA 3 (112), SSHA 34 (1214), COHA (215), NOGO 6 (68), RTHA 6 (276), RLHA 20 (69), GOEA 62 (2094), MERL 1 (41) TOTAL 137 (4312)

DAY 44 (October 12) Despite moderate NW winds in the morning, the birds couldn’t find lift and the few that tried to move were almost walking south. As a result, many migrants (especially Golden Eagles) spent long periods trying to soar very close to the site affording wonderful views of the birds. By contrast, in the afternoon the winds became lighter, the temperature rose to 12C and the birds glided south high above us in a clear blue sky where even finding them was a challenge. The spectacular movement of yesterday was not repeated but 118 raptors were counted, dominated by Golden Eagles and Sharp-shinned Hawks. Other highlights were a Northern Hawk Owl that perched at the site in the late afternoon and which, as we admired it in fantastic light, obliged us by catching a White-footed Mouse; and a Speyaria Fritillary butterfly (probably S .callippe) that floated by at 1455. Unable to believe my eyes I pursued it down the hill and found it sunning on a small rock. I don’t believe that Fritillaries have been recorded in Alberta beyond mid September, so what this was doing at 1900 metres in mid October I can’t imagine! BAEA 2 (109), SSHA 39 (1180), COHA 1 (210), NOGO 4 (62), UA 1 (45), RTHA 8 (270), RLHA 6 (49), GOEA (2086), PRFA 2 (10), UU 1 (13) TOTAL 118 (4175)

DAY 43 (October 11) A pleasant day with the temperature reaching 6C, moderate winds westerly until 1500 then easterly, and excellent Ci and As cloud cover. Again movement started slowly but picked up substantially after noon with 186 raptors moving between 1300 and 1400 alone, of which 160 were Golden Eagles which had the highest count of the season so far (367). Seasonal high counts were also recorded for Northern Goshawk (12) and Rough-legged Hawk (21), and equalled for Red-tailed Hawk (17) which included 7 “Harlan’s” and 1 “Krider’s” Hawk. The daily total of 514 is also the highest to date. The movement stopped abruptly just before 1800 as clouds suddenly condensed on the Livingstone Range to the north. BAEA 13 (107), NOHA 1 (76), SSHA 71 (1141), COHA 4 (209), NOGO 12 (58), UA 1 (44), RTHA 17 (262), RLHA 21 (44), UB 1 (6), GOEA 367 (1978), MERL 4 (40), PRFA 1 (8), UU 1 (12) TOTAL 514 (4057)

DAY 42 (October 10) The winds were similar to yesterday's with 100% As cloud most of the day, breaking after 1700 and providing a spectacular sunset. Movement was very slow in the morning with only 8 birds passing before 1300, but picked up in the afternoon and we finished up with 159 migrants of 9 species, with 93 being Golden Eagles. Six of the 9 Red-tailed Hawks were “Harlan’s” and the 8 Rough-legged Hawks was the highest count of the season. The most common passerine migrant was Grey-crowned Rosy Finch (281) and in the afternoon Common Ravens seemed to be everywhere with soaring groups of up to 26 birds. A Northern Pygmy-Owl again enlivened what was otherwise a dull morning. BAEA 7 (94), SSHA 36 (1070), COHA 2 (205), NOGO 1 (46), RTHA 9 (245), RLHA 8 (22), GOEA 93 (1611), MERL 2 (36), PEFA 1 (13) TOTAL 159 (3543)

DAY 41 (October 9) The wind was from the west all day gradually increasing from light in the morning to moderate by mid afternoon, and the early morning cloudless sky mercifully gave way to useful cirrus in the afternoon. Raptor movement was slow in the morning but got into high gear after 1330 with 101 birds counted between 1500 and 1600. We recorded the best Golden Eagle count of the season (363) with 266 of the birds being adults, and the 39 Sharp-shinned Hawks put their seasonal total over 1000 birds. A Rough-legged Hawk was both the first bird of the day at 0805 and the last at 1841. The first Cougar tracks of the season were seen close to the site. BAEA 11 (87), SSHA 39 (1034), COHA 3 (203), NOGO 3 (45), RTHA 4 (236), RLHA 3 (14), GOEA 363 (1518), UE 1 (2), MERL 2 (34) TOTAL 429 (3384)

DAY 40 (October 8) The day began promisingly with 3 Golden Eagles flapping past the site at 0802, but the next was not until 1227. Winds were again light from the east and the temperature just reached 1C. Most of the movement of the 80 migrant raptors was between 1200 and 1500 and by 1530 the Livingstone Range was again obscured and the snow started shortly after that. There was a reasonable passerine movement including 210 Bohemian Waxwings, 163 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 33 Pine Grosbeaks and a White-breasted Nuthatch. Early in the morning the fresh snow at the site revealed the track of a young Black Bear superimposed on which were the tracks of two Bobcats. BAEA 4 (76), SSHA 23 (995), COHA 3 (200), NOGO 2 (42), RLHA 2 (11), GOEA 42 (1155), MERL 2 (32), UU 2 (11) TOTAL 80 (2955)

DAY 39 (October 7) Rain overnight gave way to wet snow by 0800 that lasted to noon. Accessing the site by vehicle proved impossible so I climbed to the site in mid-afternoon just as the clouds were lifting. The Livingstone Range cleared at 1600 and the first Golden Eagle came flapping by at 1618 followed by another 10 and a Sharp-shinned Hawk over the next hour. All birds flapped continuously as there was no thermal lift (-1C and 4 cm of fresh snow) and almost no wind to assist them. By 1730 they had obviously given up the struggle. Not many other birds, but I had the delightful company of a Northern Pygmy-Owl for half an hour before the eagles began to move. SSHA 1 (972), GOEA 11 (1113) TOTAL 12 (2875)

DAY 38 (October 6) Winds were similar to yesterday’s but today the cloud cover was excellent for viewing. Movement again started early with the first Golden Eagle at 0740 and 11 migrants before 0800. It soon became apparent, however, that the big movement seen yesterday was not going to be repeated, but passage was steady all day and when the last bird went south at 1850 we had counted 180 migrants of 8 species. For the first time all the Red-tailed Hawks seen were adults: 5 calurus (4 light and 1 rufous) and 5 dark harlani. Notable among passerine migrants was a late Wilson’s Warbler. BAEA 11 (72), NOHA 1 (75), SSHA 39 (971), COHA 5 (197), RTHA 10 (232), RLHA 1 (9), GOEA 112 (1102), PEFA 1 (12) TOTAL 180 (2863)

DAY 37 (October 5) Movement started early with 5 Golden Eagles and a Sharp-shinned Hawk soaring high above me at 0755 and was fairly constant all day until the last bird, a Northern Goshawk, passed at 1850. The count of 425 migrants of 10 species was dominated by Golden Eagles (336), 205 of which were juveniles, and 72 moved in the hour 1100-1200. Winds were out of the west generally 30-40 kmh gusting to 55, with good cloud cover of 30-40% dwindling to 5% by mid afternoon making observation challenging for observers. Bald Eagles (24) also showed the biggest movement to date, and 7 of the 12 Red-tailed Hawks were “Harlan’s”: at one time an adult dark morph Harlan’s soared with a juvenile light morph Broad-winged Hawk, starkly juxtaposing the darkest and lightest of our raptors. Most passerine migrants were finches including 180 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, but a total of 11 Townsend’s Solitaires was also notable. BAEA 24 (61), NOHA 1 (74), SSHA 36 (932), COHA 5 (192), NOGO 2 (40), BWHA 1 (10), RTHA 12 (222), UB 1 (5), GOEA 336 (990), UE 1 (1), MERL 4 (30), PRFA 1 (7), UU 1 (9) TOTAL 425 (2683)

DAY 36 (October 4) There was thick valley fog in the morning but the mountains were clear until 1030 when clouds again enveloped the ridges until 1300. The Livingstone Range to the north didn’t fully clear until 1800, but light easterly winds in the afternoon produced a reasonable migration of 10 species. Golden Eagle and Sharp-shinned Hawk were again the most common species and both Bald Eagle (9) and Rough-legged Hawk (6) had their highest totals so far this season. Five of the 7 Red-tailed Hawks were “Harlan’s Hawks”. BAEA 9 (37), NOHA 2 (73), SSHA 50 (896), COHA 3 (187), NOGO 2 (38), RTHA 7 (210), RLHA 6 (8), GOEA 66 (654), AMKE 1 (33), MERL 1 (26), UU 1 (8) TOTAL 148 (2258)

(October 3) No observation: rain in the morning, ridges in thick cloud all day.

(October 2) No observation: ridges in thick cloud all day.

DAY 35 (October 1) A morning of light upslope winds gave way after 1415 to moderate WSW winds with excellent Ci/Cu cloud cover against which migrating birds were easy to locate. Despite these conditions the migration faded away after 1600 leaving us with 101 migrants of 10 species for the day with Sharp-shinned Hawks again the most common migrant and only 21 Golden Eagles. The only other birds moving in any numbers were Canada Geese (38), Bohemian Waxwings (23) and White-winged Crossbills (112), although a single flock of 26 Black-billed Magpies being harried by a Cooper’s Hawk was also notable. BAEA 3 (28), NOHA 3 (71), SSHA 44 (846), COHA 14 (184), NOGO 4 (36), RTHA 7 (203), GOEA 21 (588), AMKE 1 (32), MERL 3 (25), UU 1 (7) TOTAL 101 (2110)