November 19 [Day 84] (Vance Mattson) The ridges and mountains were completely obscured until mid afternoon when the Piitaistakis Ridge partially cleared but conditions still made raptor migration improbable. The temperature was -1C all day with the exception of 1200 when it dropped to -2C, and it was calm at the valley bottom. Freezing rain at 0730 gave way to wet snow until 0900 after which there was no further precipitation. Vance’s persistence was rewarded at 1445 when the year’s first Short-eared Owl (the season’s 101st species, only the second record for the study area and the first for November) appeared out of the gloom and hunted around the Valley View site before disappearing to the north. 9 hours (938.72) No migrant raptors (8059)

November 18 [Day 83] Dawn Hall/Raymond Toal) Observations were again made from the Valley View site with the assistance of Nel and Keith. It was a warm day with the temperature 8C at 0800 peaking at 12C at 1100 and gradually cooling to 5C at 1700. Valley bottom winds were W generally 10-20 gusting 35 km/h but were again mainly strong at ridge level. The cloud pattern was the antithesis of that of yesterday with 20% cirrus at 0800 increasing to 50% cirrus and altostratus at noon then thickening to 100% stratocumulus after 1500 although the peaks and ridges remained clear. It was an excellent raptor movement for the latter half of November with birds moving high to the west of the ridge all day. The combined species count of 42 is the latest that we have counted at least 40 birds and the Golden Eagle total of 30 was also the latest that we have reached that mark. Movement started fairly early with a Golden Eagle at 0808 and by 1100 21 birds had been counted, 18 of which were Golden Eagles. Subsequent movement was slower but steady with 4 of the day’s 7 Bald Eagles moving between 1600 and 1645. A small unidentified Accipiter moving between 0900 and 1000 was probably a Sharp-shinned Hawk which would have made it the latest record for the site by one day. 9.33 hours (929.72) BAEA 7 (387), UA 1 (62), GOEA 30 (5127), UE 4 (26) TOTAL 42 (8059)

November 17 [Day 82] (Dawn Hall/Raymond Toal) Observations were made from the Valley View site with the assistance of Nel and Keith. A starting temperature of -1C quickly warmed to 12C by noon before gradually cooling to 6C by 1700. Valley bottom winds were W generally 10-25 km/h, but the winds on the ridge appeared to be strong (40 km/k +) all day. Cloud cover was 90% altostratus until 1100 making aging of the day’s first 7 Golden Eagles impossible, but then thinned to 70% altocumulus and after 1300 was 50% cirrus providing an excellent observation backdrop. It was another good November raptor migration similar to that of November 15 with only 3 adult Bald Eagles but 26 Golden Eagles that moved fairly steadily between 0820 and 1630. Recently most of the Golden Eagles recorded have been adults, but today of the 19 birds to which ages could be assigned 3 were subadults and 7 juveniles. Two Buteos also moved in the morning when the light conditions precluded specific identification. The combined species total has now exceeded 8,000 for the second successive year, and we reached this mark 5 days later than in 2007. Just before noon an apparent non-migrant juvenile Golden Eagle launched an attack on two Bighorn rams on Ent Ridge that simultaneously reared up to fend off the attack, after which the eagle flapped off to the north. 9.25 hours (920.39) BAEA 3 (380), UB 2 (9), GOEA (5097) TOTAL 31 (8017)

November 16 [Day 81] (Bill Wilson) The ridges were completely obscured from the start and Bill moved down from the ridge to the Valley View site at 1030 when the temperature was still -5C and the wind E 5-10 gusting 15 km/h. Everything remained occluded until 1350 when the ridges cleared until 1520 after which the clouds lowered again obscuring the mountains for the rest of the day. Apart from some very light flurries between 1130 and 1230 there was no precipitation, which was in contrast to the snowy conditions that prevailed in the Front Ranges to the north. The only migrant raptor was an adult Bald Eagle at 1411 and passerines noted on the ridge before 1030 included 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 13 Mountain Chickadees, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 3 Snow Buntings (just the second records for the season), 3 Pine Grosbeaks, 40 White-winged Crossbills and 5 Common Redpolls. 9.67 hours (911.14) BAEA 1 (377) TOTAL 1 (7986)

November 15 [Day 80] (Bill Wilson) The weather was somewhat more pleasant than yesterday’s with the temperature climbing to 3C from a low of -4C, and W winds that shifted to WNW after 1400 generally only 30-40 km/h although occasional gusts reached 60-65 km/h. Cloud cover was initially 100% stratocumulus later thinning to 70% stratocumulus, cumulus and cirrus providing good viewing conditions. For the 3rd straight day there was steady raptor movement with 36 migrants seen from 1000 when the first of the day’s 25 Golden Eagles came through to 1626 when the last Golden Eagle was seen. The Golden Eagle total is the highest in 6 days and comprised 21 adults, 1 subadult and 3 juvenile birds. Surprisingly only 4 Bald Eagles (3 adults and 1 juvenile) were seen, and Northern Goshawks (3) and Rough-legged Hawks (3) continue to move south in low numbers. Passerines recorded included 6 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 100 Bohemian Waxwings, 32 Pine Grosbeaks, 10 White-winged Crossbills, 5 Common Redpolls and a single flock of 40 Pine Siskins providing the site’s first record in 8 days and the highest count in 18 days. 10.5 hours (901.47) BAEA 4 (376), NOGO 3 (241), RLHA 3 (92), GOEA 25 (5071), UE 1 (22) TOTAL 36 (7985)

November 14 [Day 79] It was a cool day on the ridge with the temperature climbing to -4C from a low of -8C, although with NW to W winds below 30 km/h, only 10-20% cirrostratus cloud cover and plenty of sunshine before noon it was quite pleasant. In the afternoon, however, the wind gradually increased reaching 80 km/h after 1600, the cloud thickened to mainly altostratus reaching 90% after 1500 and the 1 to 2 cm of fresh snow that fell yesterday was liberally blown around making for somewhat less pleasant observation conditions. Raptor movement did not get underway until 1018 when the first Bald Eagle went south and the next birds weren’t seen until 1112, but movement was then fairly steady peaking at 25 migrants between 1200 and 1300 (18 Bald Eagles and 7 Golden Eagles), with 8 the following hour but only a single Northern Goshawk after 1400 when the wind speed increased. The 23 Bald Eagles is the highest count since November 3 and is the 3rd highest for the season. Non-raptors included 25 Canada Geese flying west at 1115, 1 Northern Pygmy-Owl, 28 Mountain Chickadees, 10 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 112 Bohemian Waxwings, 43 Pine Grosbeaks, 55 White-winged Crossbills and 37 Common Redpolls. The fresh snow provided excellent tracking conditions and, amongst the 10 mammal species identified were a Bobcat and 2 Long-tailed Weasels. 10.33 hours (890.97) BAEA 23 (372), NOGO 2 (238), RLHA 1 (89), GOEA 16 (5046) TOTAL 42 (7949)

November 13 [Day 78] (Denise Cocciolone-Amatto) Observation was from the Valley View site where the ground winds were light, initially W and then NW after 1400, but the ridge winds were W moderate to strong all day. The valley-bottom temperature ranged from 0C to 5C, and cloud cover was 30-100% altocumulus and altostratus with snow falling between 1200 and 1300. After three days of poor movement, there was a slow but steady raptor migration starting with a Golden Eagle at 0811 with 10 birds recorded before 1500 after which the pace increased peaking at 10 birds between 1600 and 1700, and the last Golden Eagle went south at 1707. Eight of the day’s 14 Golden Eagles moved between 1608 and 1643. A single flock of 10 migrating Canada Geese was recorded. 9.58 hours (880.64) BAEA 9 (349), RLHA 2 (88), GOEA 14 (5030), UE 2 (21) TOTAL 27 (7907)

November 12 [Day 77] (Vance Mattson) It rained until 1115 and Vance watched from the parking area until 1000 when he climbed to the site. The wind was again W all day, 25-30 gusting 35 km/h until noon but then increased to 60-70 gusting 80 at 1400 before gradually declining to gusts of 40 km/h at 1700. The high temperature on the ridge was 2C and cloud cover was 100% stratus all day. The ridges to the west were obscured and only showed signs of partial clearing late in the day, while the peaks of the Livingstone Range to the north remained obscured until 1400 after which they partially cleared. In short it was another dismal day and the only migrant raptor seen was an adult Bald Eagle at 1136, and probable migrant passerines were limited to 10 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 11 Pine Grosbeaks and 2 White-winged Crossbills. 9.75 hours (871.06) BAEA 1 (340) TOTAL 1 (7880)

November 11 [Day 76] (Vance Mattson) It was yet another horrendous day of strong W winds that were 60-80 gusting 90 km/h for most of the day, with temperatures that ranged from -3C to a brief high of -1C at 1400. Cloud cover was 100% altostratus with minor cumulus until noon after which it gradually diminished to 60% at 1700. Again the ridges to the W were partially obscured all day but the Livingstone Range to the N remained clear with the exception of 1400-1500 when a period of snow obscured everything, but light flurries were experienced throughout the day. Despite the conditions there was some raptor movement with the day’s only Bald Eagle moving at 0843 and 2 Golden Eagles just before 1000 gave hope for a reasonable day, but only 3 more Golden Eagles were seen, the last at 1537. All the day’s eagles were adults. Passerines included 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 14 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 16 Pine Grosbeaks, 2 White-winged Crossbills and 1 Common Redpoll. The total bird count for the season has now exceeded 35,000 birds (35,050) for the first time, comprising 100 species, the great majority of which have been migrants. 10.25 hours (861.31) BAEA 1 (339), GOEA 5 (5016) TOTAL 6 (7879)

November 10 [Day 75] (Joel Duncan) It was a difficult day with the temperature only ranging from 0C to 2C, strong WSW to W winds all day gusting to 100 km/h after 1000 and cirrostratus, altostratus cloud that lowered and thickened throughout the day from 30% to 80%. The ridges to the west were more or less obscured all day, but the Livingstone Range to the north remained clear despite light snow developing at 1700. At 1000 the wind blew the day’s data sheets high to the east (they are probably now in Saskatchewan!) and on two other occasions the telescope and tripod were blown over, but 10 hours of observation yielded only 1 non-migratory Prairie Falcon that flew north past the site at 1402. Passerines were somewhat more in evidence and included 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 63 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches (the first record of the species in 7 days), 20 Pine Grosbeaks, 3 Red Crossbills and 10 Common Redpolls. 10 hours (851.06) No migrant raptors TOTAL 0 (7873)

November 9 [Day 74] (Bill Wilson) The temperature rose to 5C from a low of 1C at 0800 and fell back to 2C at 1700, winds were WNW to W generally 20-30 gusting 40 km/h, and cloud was a mixture of altostratus, cirrus and cumulus starting at 10%, increasing to 90% before clearing to 10% at 1700 providing mostly good observation conditions throughout the day. It was an excellent late-season raptor movement with 65 migrants moving fairly steadily all day between the first Rough-legged Hawk at 0727 and the last Bald Eagle at 1707. The 21 Bald Eagles (16 adults, 4 subadults and 1 juvenile) was the 3rd highest total of the season, and the 39 Golden Eagles (36 adults, 3 juveniles) brought the season’s total above 5000 for just the second time ever at any count and 11 days later than last year. The season’s Golden Eagle count is now 283 behind that of last year at this time, although the combined species count is just 12 lower than last year. The only other raptors recorded were a single adult Northern Goshawk and 4 Rough-legged Hawks. Passerine migrants included 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches, a season-high 340 Bohemian Waxwings, 22 Pine Grosbeaks, 3 White-winged Crossbills and 40 Common Redpolls. 10.75 hours (841.06) BAEA 21 (337), NOGO 1 (236), RLHA 4 (86), GOEA 39 (5011) TOTAL 65 (7873)

November 8 [Day 73] (Bill Wilson) Back on the ridge again the temperature ranged from 1C to 5C with W winds 20-30 km/h all day and generally 100% stratocumulus cloud cover that was occasionally broken. The Livingstone range to the north was enveloped in cloud all morning but gradually cleared after noon. It was another good day of raptor movement with 39 birds of 5 species migrating from 0821 when the first Bald Eagle went south to the last Golden Eagle at 1705, with 24 of the migrants moving between 1400 and 1700. A Sharp-shinned Hawk (juvenile) equaled the second latest record at the site, and with the exception of 1 juvenile Golden Eagle all the eagles of both species were adults. Passerine migrants were 6 Red-breasted Nuthatches, a season-high 200 Bohemian Waxwings, 40 Pine Grosbeaks, 3 White-winged Crossbills and 40 Common Redpolls. 10.75 (830.31) BAEA 11 (317), SSHA 1 (1452), NOGO 2 (235), RLHA 3 (82), GOEA 21 (4972), UU 1 (15) TOTAL 39 (7808)

November 7 [Day 72] (Denise Cocciolone-Amatto) Denise together with Dawn, Nel, Pat and Keith again watched from the base of the ridge at the Valley View site, where the temperature reached 10.5C from a low of 5.5C before falling to 4C at 1700. Ground winds were generally 5-10 km/h W-NW, occasionally reaching 15 km/h, and were probably light to light-moderate at the ridge level. Cloud cover was variable amounts of thin altostratus producing hazy sunshine. The earliest migrants were 2 Golden Eagles at 0932 but by 1200 only 2 more migrants had been tallied. In the afternoon, however, raptor movement was fairly steady with 30 of the day’s 46 migrants passing between 1300 and 1600. Both Bald Eagles (15) and Golden Eagles (21) moved fairly strongly, but the disadvantage of the valley-bottom site is reflected in a season high 7 unidentified eagles all of which moved high late in the day, 2 unidentified dark buteos and a large unidentified falcon. The last bird of the day at 1720 was an adult Bald Eagle which flew low enough to allow identification in the rapidly fading light. The only non-raptor migrants seen above the ridge were a single flock of 53 Canada Geese flying south at 1255. 9.75 hours (819.56) BAEA 15 (306), UB 2 (7), GOEA 21 (4951), UE 7 (19), UF 1 (3) TOTAL 46 (7769)

November 6 [Day 71] (Vance Mattson) It was another cool day with the temperature briefly reaching a high of -4C from a low of -7C, and strong W winds initially 30-40 gusting 45 km/h increasing to 50-60g70 km/h after noon and reaching 60-70 gusting 85 km/h at 1700, creating problems with blowing snow all day. The sky was cloudless at first with 30% thin altostratus developing between 1100 and 1300 that thickened and increased to 100% by 1700. There was some early raptor movement with the first 2 Golden Eagles seen at 0735 and the day’s 3 adult Northern Goshawks all moved between 1000 and 1200 but a steady flow of birds only developed after 1200 when most of the 10 Bald and 33 Golden Eagles were seen. Most of the Golden Eagles are now adults with today’s total comprising 31 adults and 2 juveniles. The highlight of the non-raptor movement was a flock of 24 Trumpeter Swans flying overhead towards the SW at 0921. This was the 100th species for the season and the first time any swans had been seen on a fall count at the site, although we recorded both species here in the spring. Passerine migrants were 31 Bohemian Waxwings, 20 Pine Grosbeaks and 13 White-winged crossbills. 10.75 (809.81) BAEA 10 (291), NOGO 3 (233), SSHA 2 (1451), GOEA 33 (4930), UE 1 (12) TOTAL 49 (7723)

November 5 [Day 70] (Vance Mattson) It was a cool day with the temperature not rising above -3C from a low of -5C at 0700, and fell back to -5C at 1700. The wind was W all day initially 25-30 gusting 35 km/h, increasing to 40-45 gusting 50 km/h in the late morning and gusting 50-55 km/h after 1300. Low stratus cloud obscured the Livingstone Range to the north all day, but at 1430 the cloud partially cleared revealing the ridges to the S, W and E and cover was down to 50% at the end of the day. As might be imagined movement was slow with the first Golden Eagle moving at 0916, the second at 1130 and the third at 1356, but with partial clearing movement increased after 1430 with 8 more Golden Eagles seen before the end of the day. Vance’s persistence under challenging conditions was also rewarded by the 3rd Gyrfalcon of the season that flew directly overhead against a recently cleared patch of blue sky at 1501. It was an adult white morph bird! There was also some songbird movement including 35 Bohemian Waxwings, 9 Pine Grosbeaks, 14 Red Crossbills, 6 White-winged Crossbills, and 3 Common Redpolls. 10.75 hours (799.06) GOEA 11 (4897), GYRF 1 (3) TOTAL 12 (7674)

November 4 NO OBSERVATION At 0700 the peaks of the Livingstone Range to the north were still clear although a light snow had begun to fall, by 0800 all ridges and peaks were periodically obscured by low cloud and after 0900 they remained occluded for the rest of the day. This is only the third day lost to adverse weather this season.

November 3 [Day 69] My first visit to the ridge in over a week was a cool one with the temperature only ranging between -1C and 1C and WNW to W winds gusting 50-60 km/h all day. The initial cloud cover of 60-70% altostratus and altocumulus diminished to 20-30% cumulus and cirrus between 1000 and 1130 providing welcome sunshine, but then a Chinook arch quickly developed covering up to 90% of the sky which only drifted off to the east after 1600. Raptor movement started slowly with the first Golden Eagle at 0850 and only 5 birds by 0900, but then they obviously found conditions favourable and the next 4 hours produced 70 migrants and movement was persistent until the last Bald Eagle went south at 1638. For the 3rd day in a row this month Bald Eagles (19) moved fairly strongly with 8 of the birds seen between 1300 and 1400, but the biggest surprise was the Golden Eagle movement which in recent days appeared to be fading away, and the total of 71 birds (65 adults, 2 subadults, 4 juveniles) is the 3rd highest November count at the site. Passerine movement was sporadic throughout the day and comprised 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1 American Robin, 55 Bohemian Waxwings (highest for the season), 50 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 57 Pine Grosbeaks, a single flock of 48 Red Crossbills, 34 White-winged Crossbills and 40 Common Redpolls. 11 hours (788.31) BAEA 19 (281), NOGO 1 (230), RLHA 3 (79), GOEA 71 (4886) TOTAL 94 (7662)

November 2 [Day 68] (Bill Wilson) [Note: change to Mountain Standard Time: all times hereafter are expressed in MST, previous times were MDT] It was yet another warm day (for November) with the temperature ranging from 4.5C to 8C with W winds all day gusting to 50 km/h in the afternoon and 90-100% altostratus, altocumulus and lenticular cloud forming a Chinook arch around midday. There were light rain showers just as night fell. The time change necessitated a very early start (Bill started climbing to the ridge at 0555) which was rewarded by the first Golden Eagle moving at 0747 followed 2 minutes later by the day’s only Rough-legged Hawk. Eight more birds were seen before 1000 and then nothing until after 1200 when the next 2 hours each produced 10 migrants with 13 birds moving after 1400, the last being 2 Bald Eagles at 1631 and a Golden Eagle at 1632. The 26 Bald Eagles counted equals the highest daily count to date, whereas the Golden Eagle counts continue to slowly diminish. Passerine movement was quite muted except for 43 Bohemian Waxwings which is the highest total so far this season. Other migrants were 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 19 Pine Grosbeaks (bringing the season’s total to1007), 4 White-winged Crossbills and 3 Pine Siskins. 11.17 hours BAEA 26 (262), NOGO 2 (229), RLHA 1 (76), GOEA 14 (4815) TOTAL 43 (7568)

November 1 [Day 67] (Bill Wilson) The unseasonably warm weather continued with the temperature reaching 11C from a low of 4C with W winds 20-30 gusting 40 km/h in the morning gradually diminishing in the afternoon to 5-10 km/h. Sky conditions were essentially cloudless until 1400 after which a mixture of altostratus, cirrus and cumulus cloud moved from the SW producing 70-100% cover for the rest of the day. The first Golden Eagle moved south at 0840 and migration was steady thereafter peaking between 1400 and 1800 when 8 raptors/hour moved. The last birds were 2 Bald Eagles at 1756, and there was also a late movement of Rough-legged Hawks with 4 of the day’s 5 birds moving after 1724. Bald Eagles moved strongly for the first time since October 25 with the 17 birds comprising 13 adults, 3 subadults and 1 juvenile and for the first time this season they outnumbered the 15 migrant Golden Eagles, 13 of which were adults and 2 juveniles. After a day off, Northern Goshawks continued their record setting progress with 5 more adults moving south and an adult Peregrine Falcon was the 34th of the season, just 1 behind last year’s record count. There was also a fairly varied passerine movement with 8 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 1 American Robin, 6 Bohemian Waxwings, 26 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 43 Pine Grosbeaks, 3 White-winged Crossbills, 3 Common Redpolls and 6 Pine Siskins moving south, and a Pileated Woodpecker flying to the west over the ridge was only the second record of the species this season. 11.17 hours (766.15) BAEA 17 (236), NOGO 5 (227), UA 1 (58), RLHA 5 (75), GOEA 15 (4801), PEFA 1 (34) TOTAL 44 (7525)

October 31 [Day 66] (Denise Cocciolone-Amatto) Denise decided to watch from the Valley View site located at the western base of the ridge. The temperature there (which is usually 3-4C warmer than the ridge top) ranged from 3C to 17C, and winds were light all day, not exceeding 8 km/h, while winds at ridge level were probably also light. Cloud cover was initially 20% altocumulus increasing to 100% altostratus at 1500 before thinning to 70% at 1800. The calm conditions meant that although the first migrant raptor, a Rough-legged Hawk, occurred at 0832 the second, an unidentified Buteo was not seen until 1248. After that there was slow but steady movement but the day’s total of 31 migrants was the lowest count since September 22 (apart from the weather interrupted day on October 4) and only 4 species of raptor were recorded including the 52nd “Harlan’s Hawk” of the season: the subspecies now accounts for 25% of the season’s total Red-tailed Hawk count. The comparative count at Mount Lorette wrapped up today after 30 days of uninterrupted counting, with the last 3 days producing 8, 8 and 11 Golden Eagles respectively. Cliff is presently auditing the data but reports that the total Golden Eagle count is just over 2000, compared to a count of 3999 over the same period (October 2-31) at Piitaistakis-South Livingstone. 10 hours (754.99) BAEA 3 (219), RTHA 1 (209), RLHA 1 (70), UB 1 (5), GOEA 22 (4786), UE 3 (11) TOTAL 31 (7481)

October summary For the first time we spent 31 days (353 hours) in the field at the site in October with only the count on October 4 being significantly curtailed because of adverse weather conditions. The days and hours are 8.8% and 9.7% above average respectively. The combined species count of 5141 is 4.15% above average and is the second highest for the month behind last year’s count of 5605. Only Northern Goshawk (140) set a new monthly high and was 42.1% above average, while Osprey (3, +100%), Broad winged Hawk (1, +100%) and Gyrfalcon (2, = average) equaled previous monthly high counts. Golden Eagles (4059) were 7.8% above average, Peregrine Falcons (7, +40%) and Prairie Falcons (9, +38.5%) were all above the average of the last two years, but all other species were below average. Bald Eagle (181, -33.7%) was probably low because the persistent warm weather has meant that northern water bodies remain largely unfrozen, so significant southward movement of the species has yet to commence. Northern Harrier (7, -17.6%) was only 2 below the highest count of 9 last year, and Sharp-shinned Hawk (516, -6.1%) , Cooper’s Hawk (44, -2.3%) and Red-tailed Hawk (57, -3.4%) were all just slightly below average. A single American Kestrel was only the 3rd to be recorded in the month, and the 15 Merlins were 23.1% below average and the lowest count ever for the month.

October 30 [Day 65] (Vance Mattson) It was not a good start to the day. When Vance arrived at the site at first light shortly after 0800 he found that all our optical and meteorological equipment, with a value of around $6000, had been stolen overnight. He had to descend the ridge again to phone me and to report the theft to the RCMP, and the climbed back up again to resume the count at 0930 using binoculars only. Fortunately the weather was ideal for observation with thin altostratus cloud between 30 and 90% after 1100, with the wind increasing from calm up to noon to W up to 35 km/h in the afternoon, and it was again warm. The birds mainly moved close to the ridge and ages were assigned to all but 2 of the day’s 50 migrants. The early morning calm conditions suggested that few birds were missed when Vance was away from the site as he didn’t see the first bird of the day, a Golden Eagle, until 1039. Forty-five birds moved after 1200 with the last being the day’s only Rough-legged Hawk at 17565. The Golden Eagle total of 28 was the lowest since October 11, but by way of compensation 8 species of migratory raptor were seen including the latest ever Peregrine Falcon at the site (an adult) by 10 days. Both the Red-tailed Hawks were adults: 1 calurus intermediate morph and 1 dark harlani. The 0930 start meant that much of the passerine movement was missed, but 2 American Robins, 101 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 96 Pine Grosbeaks, 11 Red Crossbills, 9 White-winged Crossbills and 25 Common Redpolls were seen, and 34 migrant Canada Geese was the highest daily count so far this season. 9.5 hours (944.99) BAEA 10 (216), SSHA 4 (1449), NOGO 3 (222), RTHA 2 (208), RLHA 1 (69), GOEA 28 (4764), PEFA 1 (33), PRFA 1 (17) TOTAL 50 (7450)

October 29[Day 64] (Vance Mattson) Down-slope (westerly) conditions persisted although the wind was light until 1130 after which it increased rapidly to 45-50 gusting 55 km/h peaking at 65 km/h around 1700. The temperature ranged from 4C to 11C and the sky was almost cloudless until 1100 after which 60-90% mainly thin altostratus persisted until the end of the day producing generally favourable observing conditions. Once again movement occurred over much of the day with the first Golden Eagle appearing at 0826 and the last at 1754, and 60 of the day’s 78 migrants moved after 1100. Diversity was again low with only 3 species of migratory raptor seen with Golden Eagles overwhelmingly predominant once again with the total of 72 comprising 56 adults, 3 subadults, 11 juveniles and 2 of unknown age. Passerine migrants were 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 155 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 67 Pine Grosbeaks, 14 Red Crossbills, 14 White-winged Crossbills and a late-season surge of 95 Pine Siskins. 11.16 hours (745.49) BAEA 2 (219), NOGO 3 (219), GOEA 72 (4736), UE 1 (8) TOTAL 78 (7400)

October 28 [Day 63] (Doug and Teresa Dolman) It was another pleasant day for observation with the temperature ranging from 7C to 13.5C and winds out of the W that were steady all day at 25-30 gusting 30 km/h. Cloud cover was also a consistent 60-70% altostratus and cirrus with a Chinook arch developed over the Livingstone Range which at times was so dark that aging high flying eagles was impossible, but which ultimately produced a spectacular sunset. A Northern Goshawk was the first bird of the day at 0833, but movement was generally slow until 1300 after which 61 of the day’s 85 migrants moved, with the last bird, the day’s 76th Golden Eagle, recorded at 1812. Only 4 species of raptor were seen, the lowest raptor diversity this month with the exception of the weather-interrupted day on October 4, the other migrants being 3 Bald Eagles, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk and 5 Northern Goshawks. The 76 Golden Eagles comprised 50 adults, 3 subadults, 7 juveniles and 16 birds of unknown age. A flock of 45 American Crows seen near the hoist house at 0830 was only the second fall record for the site (the first in October), was the second for the ridge proper, and is the 99th bird species recorded this season. A total of 75 Bohemian Waxwings was the highest count so far, and there was the usual steady stream of finches in the morning: 31 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 22 Pine Grosbeaks, 10 Common Redpolls (but no crossbills) along with 13 Red-breasted Nuthatches (the highest count since October 6) and 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets. 11 hours (724.33) BAEA 3 (204), SSHA 1 (1445), NOGO 5 (216), GOEA 76 (4664) TOTAL 85 (7322)

October 27 [Day 62] (Denise Cocciolone-Amatto) It was a very pleasant day with the temperature rising to 11C from a low of -2C, W and occasionally SW winds all day in the range of 20-25 km/h, gusting briefly to 45 km/h around 1300, and clear skies initially with gradually developing altostratus and cirrus cloud that reached 90% by mid afternoon before diminishing to 5-30% for the rest of the day. There was again a good variety of raptors seen with 8 species moving between the first Rough-legged Hawk at 0850 and the last Golden Eagle at 1820. Migration was initially slow but picked up significantly in the afternoon with 59 of the day’s 86 migrants moving after 1400. Golden Eagles (58) still dominate the movement but significant numbers of Sharp-shinned Hawks (9) are still going south and a juvenile Northern Harrier was a fairly late bird. Once again most of the passerine migration was early in the morning and comprised 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 2 American Robins, 160 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 16 Pine Grosbeaks and 39 White-winged Crossbills. 11.33 (713.33) BAEA 8 (201), NOHA 1 (49), SSHA 9 (1444), COHA 1 (235), NOGO 4 (211), UA 1 (57), RLHA 2 (68), GOEA 58 (4588), UE 1 (7), MERL 1 (32) TOTAL 86 (7237)

October 26 [Day 61] (Bill Wilson) The temperature at 0800 was -11C, the coldest experienced so far this season, but rose to 4C under sunny skies with 20-80% thin cirrus cloud cover all day. The highest wind recorded was 20 km/h, but it was generally light all day, initially E but then progressively SE, S and finally SW for most of the afternoon. The first raptor of the day was a Rough-legged Hawk at 0815 and the first Golden Eagle was at 0847, but the bulk of the movement was in the afternoon with highest passage of 13 birds from 1200 to 1300, 12 from 1500-1600 and 11 from 1700 to 1800. The last bird was a Golden Eagle at 1731. The combined species count of 68 was the lowest since October 12 and Golden Eagle movement appears to be finally losing steam with 43 birds counted: 36 adults, 1 subadult and 6 juveniles. Bald Eagles, however, continue to move steadily and a few Sharp-shinned Hawks are still going south. At 1720 a non-migrant Prairie Falcon took particular exception to a single Common Raven, which was one of many moving west to roost, and harried it relentlessly for about a minute. As Bill left Calgary at 0500 he climbed to the site in darkness but was rewarded with a Great Horned Owl singing to the east of the ridge, which was the 97th bird species of the season and the first time the bird has been detected from the site itself. At 1137 a first winter Herring Gull flew to the S just W of the ridge providing species #98 and again it was the first time the species has been seen at the ridge top. There was a good movement of finches in the morning involving Pine Grosbeaks (59), Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches (52), Red Crossbills (20), White-winged Crossbills(102) and Common Redpolls (8) together with 6 Red-breasted Nuthatches and 32 Bohemian Waxwings, but almost no passerine movement in the afternoon. At Mount Lorette Cliff Hansen had a total of 19 migrant raptors comprising 6 Bald Eagles, 1 Northern Goshawk, and 12 Golden Eagles which moved late in the day. Observers at Lorette have now counted 1938 Golden Eagles at the site since October 2, compared to 3743 counted at Piitaistakis-South Livingstone over the same period. 11.16 hours (daylight observation!) (702) BAEA 13 (193), SSHA 2 (1435), NOGO 5 (207), RLHA 4 (66), GOEA 43 (4530), UE 1 (6) TOTAL 68 (7151)

October 25 [Day 60] Once again winds were W gusting between 35 and 55 km/h all day and the temperature ranged between -0.5C and 4C. Cloud cover was 70-100% altostratus and cumulus until noon producing light snow flurries to 1000, but in the afternoon the cloud rapidly cleared and after 1500 the remnant scattered cumulus was reduced to 2%: fortunately most of it was concentrated behind the Livingstone Range to the north greatly facilitating the location of high southward flying birds. Again there was a good variety of raptors for late October with 9 species moving. The Golden Eagle recorded at 1153 was the 7000th migrant raptor of the season and we reached this mark 2 days earlier than we did last year. The first bird was a Golden Eagle at 0831 and the last a Bald Eagle at 1830 and between raptors appeared at a fairly steady pace all day with peak movements of 18 from 1100 to 1200 and 19 from 1600 to 1700. There was a late burst of 15 Bald Eagles after 1607 raising their count to 20 the second highest this season, and the only Northern Harrier was an adult male at 1037. Seven more Northern Goshawks raised the total to over 200 for the first time at the site, and 2 dark morph “Harlan’s” Red-tailed Hawks raised the season’s total for the subspecies to 50. Golden Eagles continue to move fairly strongly with the day’s total of 78 comprising 55 adults, 4 subadults, 14 juveniles and 5 birds of unknown age. The only passerine migrants were finches with 105 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 130 Pine Grosbeaks, 10 White-winged Crossbills and 25 Pine Siskins winging their way south. At Mount Lorette Ron Dutcher spent a pleasant day counting 26 migrant raptors of which 21 were Golden Eagles. 11.25 hours (690.84) BAEA 20 (180), NOHA 1 (48), SSHA 3 (1433), COHA 1 (234), NOGO 7 (202), UA 1 (56), RTHA 2 (206), RLHA 2 (62), GOEA 78 (4487), UE (5), MERL 1 (31) TOTAL 118 (7083)

When I returned home tonight I learned that my wife Barbara’s health has suddenly taken a turn for the worse so I am leaving for Calgary early tomorrow. We have presently arranged for Principal Observers to be at the Piitaistakis site in my stead until Sunday November 2, and we shall decided how to proceed thereafter depending on Barbara’s progress. Because of this situation I shall not be posting the blog for a few days. As always the Principal Observers would welcome whatever help they can get at the site.

October 24 [Day 59] The wind was W all day gusting to 50 km/h in the morning and then gradually increased to 40-50 gusting 90 km/h by late afternoon. The temperature was 0C until 1100 and reached a high of 6C at 1700, and there was a Chinook arch of altostratus cloud until late morning followed by diminishing amounts of cumulus and altostratus down to 10-30% after 1600. The day’s first bird was an adult male columbarius Merlin at 0844 but I had to wait until 1021 for the first of the day’s 53 Golden Eagles to appear. Movement was then sporadic for the rest of the day with birds generally moving high in the strong winds and after 1700 the birds were clearly being buffeted by the wind as they glided south: the last Bald Eagle was seen at 1806. For the first time this season Bald Eagles moved in decent numbers with 9 of the day’s 26 birds seen between 1600 and 1700. The only Red-tailed Hawk was a dark morph adult “Harlan’s” at 1542, and the season’s second Gyrfalcon, a juvenile grey morph, flew south at 1226. Because of the strong winds passerine movement was almost completely confined to the period before 1000, and only Pine Grosbeaks (100) and Bohemian Waxwings (38) occurred in numbers comparable to the last few days. Other migrants were 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 1 American Robin, 59 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 36 White-winged Crossbills and 7 Common Redpolls. A Snowshoe Hare near the site was in its white winter pelage and easy to see on the snow-less ridge. Raptor movement was relatively sparse at Lorette during the last three days under Chinook wind conditions. Alan Hingston recorded 22 Golden Eagles and 2 Bald eagles on October 22 and 14 Golden Eagles, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk and 1 unidentified falcon on October 23, while today Cliff Hansen saw 18 Golden Eagles and no other migrant raptors.11.25 hours (679.59) BAEA 26 (160), SSHA 1 (1430), NOGO 4 (195), RTHA 1 (204), RLHA 4 (60), GOEA 53 (4409), MERL 1 (30), GYRF 1 (2) TOTAL 91 (6965)

October 23 [Day 58] The 100 km/h winds that were forecasted did not materialise with W winds gusting to 70 km/h at 0900 and then diminishing to between 35 and 55 km/h for the rest of the day. The temperature was 4C at 0800, rose to 6C at 1300 and was still 3C at 1850. Maximum cloud cover was 70% altostratus and altocumulus at 0900 that gradually declined to 5% at 1500 and was then cloudless for the rest of the day. Raptor movement started at 0838 with the first Golden Eagle and continued steadily until 1500 after which it became very sporadic until the last 2 Golden Eagles glided high to the south at 1825. The day’s migration was a real surprise for this time of year with 9 raptor species moving and of the total of 107 migrants only 35 were Golden Eagles. The 11 Bald Eagles equals the season’s high total to date and a juvenile Northern Harrier was the first seen at the site since October 11. Sharp-shinned Hawks (19) continue to move in fair numbers and the 20 Northern Goshawks (15 adults and 5 juveniles) is a new single-day record count for the site. The 6 Red-tailed Hawks comprised 2 calurus adults (1 dark and 1 light morph) and 4 “Harlan’s” red-tails all of which moved between 1310 and 1356 and comprised 2 dark morph adults and a dark morph juvenile and an adult intermediate morph bird. The 13 Rough-legged Hawks is the highest count so far this season and a male American Kestrel at 1805 is the latest ever seen at the site by 19 days. Passerine movement was also varied and abundant including 7 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 1 American Robin, 8 European Starlings (the first for the season and bird species #96), 30 Bohemian Waxwings, 841 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 158 Pine Grosbeaks (which is a new single-day record for the site), 8 Red Crossbills, 91 White-winged Crossbills and 30 Common Redpolls. Not a bad day! 11.33 hours (668.34) BAEA 11 (134), NOHA 1 (47), SSHA 19 (1429), NOGO 20 (191), RTHA 6 (203), RLHA 13 (56), GOEA 35 (4356), AMKE 1 (18), PRFA 1 (16) TOTAL 107 (6874)

October 22 [Day 57] Winds were WNW-W all day gusting 50-60 km/h most of the time but diminishing slightly after1700, and the temperature rose to 5.5C from a low of -3C. It was almost cloudless at 0800 but altostratus, cirrus, cirrostratus and lenticular cloud rapidly developed reaching 90% by late morning and then disappeared as rapidly after 1300 leaving almost cloudless skies for the rest of the afternoon. After the torrid pace of migration of the last 10 days today’s movement seemed rather sedate and there were several half-hour gaps in the action, but raptors moved fairly steadily all day between the first Golden Eagle at 0846 and the last Rough-legged Hawk at 1818 with the busiest hour (1000-1100) seeing the passage of only 17 birds. Only 5 species of raptor moved with 84 of the day’s 109 migrants being Golden Eagles. With 9 birds moving today the Northern Goshawk seasonal total has now exceeded the previous high count for the site of 166 set last year: new seasonal site records have now been set this year for all three Accipiter species. Finch movement comprised 786 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 35 Pine Grosbeaks and 25 White-winged Crossbills. Two of 5 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches feeding near the site at 0810 were the coastal subspecies littoralis (“Hepburn’s Rosy-Finch”), the first time they have been recorded at the site this season. 11.5 hours (657.01) BAEA 10 (123), SSHA 4 (1410), NOGO 9 (171), RLHA 2 (43), GOEA 84 (4321) TOTAL 109 (6767)

October 21 [Day 56] I did the first 2.5 hours and then the count was capably taken over by Denise, Dawn, Pat, Doug and Teresa as I had to go to Calgary. They had a chilly day with the temperature only reaching 0C from a low of -2C, and a WNW wind all day generally gusting between 25 and 30 km/h. Cloud cover was altocumulus, cumulus and altostratus ranging from 100% at 0800 progressively down to 5% at 1800. The dynamic of the raptor movement was similar to that of yesterday with the first Golden Eagle moving at 0825 and 108 of the day’s 196 raptors counted before 1200. The afternoon movement was steady but with lower numbers as again squalls developed to the west producing flurries in the afternoon, and the last birds were 2 unidentified eagles moving south in the gathering gloom at 1838. The 11 Bald Eagles was the highest daily count so far this season, 10 Sharp-shinned Hawks pushed the season’s total above 1400 for the first time at the site, 3 Cooper’s Hawks was the highest count since October 6 and 1 of the 2 Red-tailed Hawks was the 43rd “Harlan’s” of the season. Both Pine Grosbeak (55) and Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches (930) had their largest movements of the season so far but as has been the case for the last few days White-winged Crossbills have been relatively scarce with only 21 moving today. At Mount Lorette Joel Duncan, Des Allen and Jamey Podlubny counted 87 migrant raptors of which 73 were Golden Eagles and 7 Bald Eagles under somewhat more pleasant weather conditions. 11.67 hours (645.51) BAEA 11 (113), SSHA 10 (1406), COHA 3 (233), NOGO 6 (162), UA 2 (55), RTHA 2 (197), TLHA 1 (41), GOEA 157 (4237), UE 2 (3), MERL 2 (29) TOTAL 196 (6658)

October 20 [Day 55] The wind was W all day initially 25-30 gusting 35 km/h and increasing throughout the day gusting to 70 km/h by 1900, but thankfully the forecast winds of 100km/h did not materialise. The temperature was 4C at 0800 and rose to 6C by 1500 but quickly dropped to 1C as a series of squalls moved from the W throughout the afternoon bringing first rain showers, then sleet and finally snow flurries as the temperature dropped. Cloud cover ranged from 70-100% mainly cumulus and stratocumulus and the southern end of the Livingstone Range was periodically obscured throughout the afternoon. As I had expected the morning raptor movement was good with the first Golden Eagles moving at 0805 and by noon I had counted 101 raptors of which 87 were Golden Eagles. The afternoon movement, however, was frequently interrupted by periodic squalls although birds often moved in good numbers as soon as the weather cleared. The 66th Golden Eagle of the day at 1055 was the 4000th of the season, and 2 Bald Eagles at 0934 brought the season’s total to 100, although their main movement is still to come. An adult Peregrine Falcon at 1121 was the 32nd of the season and equals 2007 as the latest record for the site. The only Red-tailed Hawk was a juvenile dark morph “Harlan’s” at 1446 (the 42nd of the season), and the last bird of the day was again a Rough-legged Hawk at 1813. Passerine movement was thin but included 2 Townsend’s Solitaires, the first seen at the site since October 6, 10 Bohemian Waxwings, and 74 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches. At Mount Lorette George Halmazna tallied 120 Golden Eagles out of a total of 135 migrant raptors that also included 7 Bald Eagles, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 5 Rough-legged Hawks and a Merlin. Rain brought an early end to the day there. 11.5 hours (633.84) BAEA 5 (102), SSHA 6 (1396), COHA 1 (230), NOGO 4 (156), RTHA 1 (195), RLHA 1 (40), GOEA 145 (4080), PEFA 1 (32), PRFA 2 (15), UF 1 (2) TOTAL 167 (6462)

October 19 [Day 54] It was not an auspicious start to the day with low stratus cloud obscuring all the ridges, a moderate E wind and light drizzle, so I stayed in the parking area at the base of the ridge hoping that it would eventually clear. At 1220 the cloud appeared to be lifting so we climbed to the site which remained shrouded in thick cloud until 1400 when it lifted off the Piitaistakis Ridge but the mountains to the north did not fully clear until 1625. The E wind became light after 1200 then shifted to SSW-S after 1500 but never exceeded 6 km/h and was often calm. The upper winds shifted to W but were also only light. The temperature only reached 0.5C from a low at 1300 of -2C, but as the cloud cleared to 20% cumulus after 1700 it felt much warmer under the hazy sun. Only 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks and a Rough-legged Hawk moved low beneath the cloud base in the morning, and concerted movement only started at 1446 when Golden Eagles soared W of the ridge and flapped heavily to the south. The next 2 hours saw 34 and 26 Golden Eagles move respectively and the last one, number 77, was seen at 1758. As the clouds cleared accipiters also started to move, and the last bird of the day was a Rough-legged Hawk at 1825. Passerine movement was very limited but included 385 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches and the first Snow Bunting of the season (species #95). Things also got off to a slow start at Mount Lorette where winds were light all day, with Bill Wilson not seeing the first Golden Eagle until 1123. Things gradually picked up and by the time the last bird was recorded, a Rough-legged Hawk at 1828, he had seen 115 migrants comprising 6 Bald Eagles, 1 Northern Harrier, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 8 Northern Goshawks, 3 Rough-legged Hawks, 94 Golden Eagles and 2 Merlins. Maximum passage was 30 raptors (25 Golden Eagles) between 1700 and 1800 which suggests that we should have some good movement at Piitaistakis-South Livingstone tomorrow morning. 11.67 hours (622.34) BAEA 2 (97), SSHA 9 (1390), COHA 2 (229), NOGO 2 (152), RLHA 3 (39), GOEA 77 (3935) TOTAL 95 (6295)

October 18 [Day 53] (Bill Wilson) The weather was fairly uniform all day with the temperature ranging from 6.5C to 9C, winds W-WSW generally 20-30 km/h occasionally gusting to 40 km/h and 70-100% altostratus, cumulus and cirrus cloud cover until after 1800 when it diminished to 20-30%. I went to Canmore today to give a talk at their Festival of Eagles and drove the last hour through heavy wet snow, with the mountains there completely obscured until early afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised to learn, therefore, on returning to the site at 1740 that there had been steady and continuous raptor movement since 0816 when the first Golden Eagle moved south which only diminished after 1800. There was also a greater variety of birds (8 species) moving than during the great Golden Eagle rush of the last five days, although Golden Eagles were still the dominant migrant with 114 birds counted. Sharp-shinned Hawks (28) still show little sign of slowing down and the 18 Northern Goshawks is a new single-day record for the site. Three of the day’s 4 Red-tailed Hawks were dark-morph “Harlan’s” and the other was a dark morph bird of unknown subspecies. Maximum passage was 1400-1500 with 41 birds including 22 Golden Eagles and 9 Sharp-shinned Hawks. The last bird of the day was a Sharp-shinned Hawk that flew south in the middle of a flock of Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches at 1808. Every so often it would pursue a finch and the flock would briefly scatter, but would quickly re-form still with the hawk in the middle of it! Passerine migration was again dominated by finches including 552 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 28 Pine Grosbeaks, 11 Red Crossbills, 271 White-winged Crossbills and 40 Pine Siskins. Bohemian Waxwings (28) moved for just the second time this season and the 30 American Robins was their biggest movement for a week. In the Kananaskis Valley the snow in the morning was so heavy that cars were being turned back at Barrier Lake and Ron Dutcher was not able to access the Lorette site until 1300. The ridges finally cleared at in mid afternoon and the first migrant of the day was a Sharp-shinned Hawk at 1618 followed by a couple of juvenile Golden Eagles at 1734. There was then a late movement of 28 Golden Eagles with the last going south at 1848 by which time the light was so poor that apart from the first 4 adults it was impossible to age them. 11.75 hours (619.67) BAEA 4 (95), SSHA 28 (1381), COHA 2 (227), NOGO 18 (150), UA 8 (53), RTHA 4 (194), RLHA 6 (36), UB 2 (4), GOEA 114 (3858), MERL 3 (27) TOTAL 189 (6200)

October 17 [Day 52] Winds were W all day gusting 70-100 km/h until 1600 after which they moderated to 40-60 km/h, but in compensation the temperature rose from 3C to a very pleasant 8.5C. Cloud cover ranged from 50-90% with a mixture of cumulus, altocumulus, stratocumulus, lenticular and cirrus, and the southern end of the Livingstone Range was shrouded in cloud until 1230 with stratocumulus cloud “pouring” over the ridge from the west at an impressive speed. Despite the apparent occlusion of the mountains to the north, raptor migration began at 0809 with the first of the day’s 232 Golden Eagles going south; it paused briefly to make a half hearted stoop on an adult Northern Goshawk that was flying beneath it. Twenty more Golden Eagles followed by 0900 and movement continued strongly at yesterday’s rate until 1500 when the pace slackened with only 10 birds moving from 1700 to 1800 and the last bird, the 10th Sharp-shinned Hawk of the day, was seen at the early time of 1801. It is possible that the current Golden Eagle migration pulse is losing steam as the last 5 days has produced an impressive total of 1699 birds. The Golden Eagle that passed at 1644 was the 6000th migrant raptor of the season. This is the earliest we have reached that mark, one day earlier than last year’s count. Finches were again the only other birds migrating with 751 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 13 Pine Grosbeaks, 8 Red Crossbills, 63 White-winged Crossbills, 30 Common Redpolls and 1 Pine Siskin moving south. 11.67 hours (598.92) BAEA 1 (91), SSHA 10 (1353), NOGO 6 (132), RLHA 1 (30), GOEA 232 (3744), PRFA 1 (13) TOTAL 251 (6011)

October 16 [Day 51] It was another ideal day for eagle migration, if a little chilly for observation with the temperature only rising briefly above freezing to a high of 3C from a low of -2C. Winds were WNW to W all day gusting to 40 km/h up to 1330 and then increasing to 60-80 km/h for the rest of the day. Cloud cover was a spectacular variety of constantly changing high wind clouds: lenticular altostratus, altocumulus, cirrus and cumulus, which produced good to excellent viewing conditions throughout the day and a superlative sunset in the evening. Against this backdrop was a constant stream of mainly Golden Eagles that started at 0825 and finished at 1840 without a single significant break. Until 1000 the movement was low along the ridge with the birds passing very close, but as the winds increased movement became progressively higher although many birds still passed overhead. The combined species total of 384 and the Golden Eagle total of 357 were both the second highest of the season, and again there was a fair leavening of other raptors. The evenness of the movement is shown by the hourly counts between 0900 and 1800 which ranged between 28 and 49 birds/hour. At Mount Lorette Brian McBride counted 178 migrant raptors between 0810 and 1842, of which 167 were Golden Eagles and 9 were unidentified eagles which were also probably Golden Eagles. Passerine movement was confined to finches with 147 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 16 Pine Grosbeaks, 3 Red Crossbills and 111 White-winged Crossbills moving south. 11.75 hours (587.25) BAEA 7 (90), SSHA 9 (1343), NOGO 5 (126), RTHA 1 (190), RLHA 4 (29), UB 1 (2), GOEA 357 (3512) TOTAL 384 (5760)

October 15 [Day 50] The temperature ranged from -4C to 4C with light WNW-W winds to early afternoon then W winds gusting from 25 to 35 km/h for the rest of the day. Sky conditions were excellent for observation with 40-90% combinations of cirrus, cirrostratus, altostratus, altocumulus and lenticular cloud generally making birds easy to detect and to age. Just 8 birds moved before 1100 under light winds with the first appearing at 0910, but thereafter migration was continuous until the last Golden Eagle glided high to the south at 1840. Movement was again dominated by Golden Eagles that peaked at 69 birds between 1300 and 1400. The 269 birds counted comprised 185 adults, 14 subadults, 67 juveniles and 3 birds of unknown age, and the adult bird that passed at 1405 was the 3000th Golden Eagle of the season. Both Bald Eagle (7) and Northern Goshawk (10) equaled their highest counts for the season so far, and Sharp-shinned Hawks (26) continue to move in good numbers, with 1334 counted so far. Passerine migrants included 10 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 183 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 8 Red Crossbills, 33 White-winged Crossbills and 2 Pine Siskins. 11.67 hours (575.5) BAEA 7 (83), SSHA 26 (1334), NOGO 10 (121), RLHA 4 (25), GOEA 269 (3155), MERL 1 (24), PRFA 1 (12) TOTAL 318 (5376)

October 14 [Day 49] Although the mountains to the north were obscured in cloud at 0800, the general stratocumulus cover was fairly high and W winds to 20 km/h gave the prospect of early clearing. Just before 1000 the mountains cleared, but only for 10 minutes (allowing the passage of one Golden Eagle) before the wind shifted to E and the ridge was enveloped in thick cloud. At 1410 the wind shifted to WSW-W and the cloud quickly cleared to 50-20% cumulus for the rest of the day. The temperature ranged from -2C to 2C and much of the afternoon was sunny. As soon as the cloud began to break after 1410 raptors began to move and 51 were counted by 1500 and they peaked during the next hour when 101 went south of which 83 were Golden Eagles. Movement continued steadily until the last 3 Golden Eagles were seen at 1837. The Golden Eagle recorded at 1629 was the 5000th migrant raptor of the season, and unlike yesterday there was also a fair sprinkling of non Golden Eagle raptors. Passerine movement was slow in the morning but included our second ever Harris’ Sparrow (species # 94, and the first for October) in a flock of 6 Dark-eyed Juncos. Once the low cloud lifted, however, there was a significant movement of finches including 886 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 23 Pine Grosbeaks and 193 White-winged Crossbills. 11.5 hours (563.83) BAEA 2 (76), SSHA 20 (1308), COHA 2 (225), NOGO 1 (111), RLHA 4 (21), GOEA 215 (2886) TOTAL 244 (5058)

October 13 [Day 48] (Bill Wilson) The temperature rose to 6C from a low of 1C under the influence of mainly W winds that were 30-40 gusting 50 km/h for most of the day. Cloud cover was 40-95% altostratus and altocumulus all day with an arch developing in the afternoon. Conditions were ideal for eagle migration but the first bird did not appear until 0928. After 1000, however, the flood gates opened with 231 raptors moving before noon, all but 2 of them Golden Eagles. The pace slackened slightly after noon but peaked again with the passage of 125 birds (124 Golden Eagles) between 1500 and 1600. The last bird of the day was an adult Bald Eagle at 1823 which was the day’s 637th raptor, of which 626 were Golden Eagles. Because of the volume and height of the Golden Eagle movement, it proved to be impossible to assign an age to 406 (65%) of the birds. The only other raptors seen were 5 Bald Eagles, 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 3 Northern Goshawks: there probably wasn’t room in the sky for any more! At Mount Lorette Doug Pedersen also had a good day recording 386 Golden Eagles out of a total of 390 migrant raptors. One of the 4 non-Golden Eagle migrants was a Peregrine Falcon. Passerine movement was relatively subdued with a few flocks of grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, Pine Grosbeaks and White-winged Crossbills going south. 11.75 hours (552.33) BAEA 5 (74), SSHA 3 (1288), NOGO 3 (110), GOEA (626) TOTAL 637 (4814)

October 12 [Day 47] Upslope conditions continued until 1700 when the wind shifted from E to NW but winds were light all day, never exceeding 8 km/h, and it was often calm for extended periods. It was cloudless until 1700 when stratocumulus cloud moved rapidly from the NW and after 1800 cloud cover was 100% with snow squalls developing to the NE. The temperature reached 6C from a low of -2C, but the calm conditions and bright sunshine (plus the contrast with the last 3 days) made it feel positively tropical. Calm conditions and cloudless skies are generally the worst combination for raptor movement/observation, but today was an exception with strong movement from 1100 to 1608 after which movement totally ceased, probably because cloud was enveloping the ridges to the north. Most movement was close to the ridge and with the help of Doug and Teresa it was not too challenging to pick the birds out against the blue sky. Sharp-shinned Hawks (67) had their strongest movement since October 3 and at 1256 surpassed the previous seasonal site record of 1247 set in 2006. Golden Eagles passed the 2000 mark at 1313 and the other 5 raptor species seen added only 9 birds to the day’s total of 164. Bill Wilson at Mount Lorette recorded only 21 Golden Eagles before 1700, but between 1700 and 1907 he counted a further 87 birds, but saw no other migrant raptor all day. Bill is going to be the Principal Observer at the Piitaistakis-South Livingstone tomorrow (allowing me to go to Calgary to have Thanksgiving dinner with Barbara and the family), so he will probably count the same 87 birds tomorrow morning. Non-raptor movement was sparse but included the second Lapland Longspur of the season at the site and 2 Northern Pygmy-Owls: one singing and calling at the parking area at 0730 and the regular at the site 300m higher that was first seen at 1000. 11.67 hours (540.58) BAEA 4 (69), SSHA 67 (1285), COHA 1 (223), NOGO 2 (107), RLHA 1 (17), GOEA 88 (2045), MERL 1 (23) TOTAL 164 (4177)

October 11 [Day 46] The upslope conditions of the last couple of days continued with light winds from the E–ENE until 1880 when they backed to SSE. The temperature rose to -3C from a low of -8C, and 80-90% stratocumulus and cumulus cloud gave way to diminishing amounts of cumulus after 1300 culminating in a cloudless sky at 1900. The Livingstone Range to the north was largely in cloud until 1150 when it cleared for the rest of the day, and apart from some light flurries in the early morning there was no precipitation. For the last two years October 11 has had the highest raptor movement of the season (514 and 518) but today saw only a modest trickle of birds and although it did pick up a bit after 1500 it was generally a disappointing day (although the afternoon sunshine was a pleasant change). The Golden Eagle seen at 1632 was the 4000th migrant raptor of the season, however. Four Golden Eagles soaring together at 1512 gave hope that a good movement was about to begin, but the last bird went that flew south at 1755 was only the 26th of the day. Three more dark adult “Harlan’s Hawks” moved south bringing the season’s total for the subspecies to 38, and a juvenile grey morph Gyrfalcon at 1554 was the first for the season (bird species #93) and the earliest yet recorded at the site. At Mount Lorette, Ron Dutcher had a similar day recording 30 Golden Eagles out of a total of 35 migrant raptors. Let’s hope that the west winds develop again soon! The most common migrant passerines were 55 American Robins, 23 Dark-eyed Juncos, 17 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 22 White-winged Crossbills and 63 Pine Siskins, 60 of which passed in a single flock. 12 hours (528.91) SSHA 5 (1218), COHA 1 (222), NOGO 2 (105), RTHA 3 (189), GOEA 26 (1957), GYRF 1 (1) TOTAL 38 (4013)

October 10 [Day 45] The weather was almost a repeat of yesterday with the temperature rising to -3C from a low of -6C, E to ENE winds generally 10-20 km/h and 90-100% cirrostratus and cumulus cloud cover until 1700 after which it thinned to 50-70% cumulus. Snow squalls periodically moved from the east, especially in the early afternoon, and only stopped after 1800, but the ridges were only ever briefly obscured. Raptor movement was also similar to yesterday with slow but steady movement all day between the first and last Golden Eagles at 0824 and 1901 with numbers increasing after 1500. An Osprey at 1523 was the second latest record for the site and all 4 Red-tailed Hawks were dark morph “Harlan’s” (3 adults and 1 juvenile). The 7 Rough-legged Hawks was the highest daily count so far this season, with the last 2 birds moving high to the south at 1850 and 1856. Yesterday’s count at Mount Lorette (Peter Roxburgh) was 68 that included 56 Golden Eagles and late records of Broad-winged Hawk and American Kestrel. Today under more challenging weather conditions Cliff Hansen counted 16 migrants, 13 of which were Golden Eagles. There was an interesting variety of non-raptor migrants at Piitaistakis-South Livingstone with passerines including the first 25 Bohemian Waxwings of the season (bird species #91), 40 American Robins (a single flock at 0915), 57 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches and 96 White-winged Crossbills. A season high total of 29 Canada Geese in 3 skeins moved high to the west as did 2 Common Loons at 1636. The highlight, however, was the day’s penultimate bird which was the site’s first ever Parasitic Jaeger flying high and fast to the south, west of the ridge at 1857. The species was the 92nd of the season and the 150th bird species recorded for the ridge area since the start of systematic counts in fall 2006; it is also the first time that the species has been seen in the Crowsnest Pass area. 12.08 hours (516.91) OSPR 1 (27), NOHA 1 (46), SSHA 10 (1213), NOGO 2 (103), RTHA 4 (186), RLHA 7 (16), GOEA 23 (1931) TOTAL 48 (3975)

October 9 [Day 44] It was a chilly day with the temperature only climbing to -2C from a low of -5C, but winds were light E-ENE all day so it actually felt warmer than the last couple of days. There were extensive snow squalls in the area and in the afternoon a series of squalls moved slowly across the ridge from the east periodically occluding the mountains to the north. Cloud cover ranged from 100-70% and there were sunny periods between the snow showers. Conditions were far from ideal for raptor migration, but there was a steady trickle of birds moving south throughout the day from 0846 to 1820, many of them flying through the snow flurries. The 11 Sharp-shinned Hawks raised the season’s total above 1200 for the third successive year and Northern Goshawk reached the 100 mark. Golden Eagle migration increased in the afternoon, but the light winds were not conducive to efficient flight and much time was spent soaring: at 1701 5 birds soared for about 5 minutes before moving south. The first bird of the day was a Hermit Thrush perched on a snag at the site which was the latest record there and a first for October. Other passerine migrants included 113 American Robins, 16 Pine Grosbeaks and 178 White-winged Crossbills, and the Northern Pygmy-Owl made another appearance in the afternoon. 12 hours (504.83) BAEA 5 (65), SSHA 11 (1203), NOGO 2 (101), RTHA 2 (182), RLHA 2 (9), GOEA 18 (1908), UE 1 (1), PRFA 1 (11) TOTAL 42 (3927)

October 8 [Day 43] The temperature only rose to 2C from a low of -2.5C, but otherwise it was a pleasant day (at least compared to yesterday!). Winds were W-WNW reaching 50 km/h around 1400 but otherwise generally between 20 and 30 km/h, cloud cover was 10-70% cumulus throughout the day and although snow squalls developed around us in the afternoon none hit the site. Movement started early with 2 Golden Eagles at 0758 and continued almost without a break until the last Golden Eagle went south at 1850. Both the combined species total of 323 and the Golden Eagle total of 300 were high counts for the season to date. Forty-five raptors (42 Golden Eagles) moved between 0800 and 0900 and by noon we had counted 161 including 152 Golden Eagles with the day’s peak movement being 60 (58 Golden Eagles) from 1100-1200. Observation conditions (with the exception of the temperature) couldn’t have been better and, unlike yesterday, I was able to age every Golden Eagle including the high fliers in the evening: 199 adults, 29 subadults and 72 juveniles. Again unlike yesterday there was a fair sprinkling of other raptors including an adult dark “Harlan’s Hawk” and the first 2 Prairie Falcons for 11 days. The single Cooper’s Hawk established a new fall seasonal record for the site of 221 birds. At Mount Lorette Cliff Hansen recorded 60 migrant raptors under somewhat adverse weather conditions, including 54 Golden Eagles and 2 adult light morph Broad-winged Hawks. Passerine migrants included 7 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 39 American Robins, 44 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 5 Pine Grosbeaks, 153 White-winged Crossbills and 14 Pine Siskins. 12 hours (492.83) BAEA 2 (60), SSHA 10 (1192), COHA 1 (221), NOGO 4 (99), RTHA 3 (180), RLHA 1 (7), GOEA 300 (1890), PRFA 2 (10) TOTAL 323 (3885)

October 7 [Day 42] It rained until 0915 after which the ridges quickly cleared but at the same time the W winds increased to gusts of 90-100 km/h which lasted until 1230 after which they moderated to 40-70 km/h. The afternoon was punctuated by periods of snow, the longest lasting from 1350 to 1450 during which the temperature dropped to -0.5 from a high of 7C at 1300. The clouds gradually cleared thereafter diminishing to 20% at 1900, when the W winds again increased to 80 km/h. Golden Eagle movement started almost immediately the rain stopped in the morning and 50 birds had gone south before the snow started at 1350. As soon as the snow had finished the movement resumed, peaking between 1700 and 1800 with the passage of 128 birds (99 of which moved between 1700 and 1730) producing the season’s highest hourly count so far. The birds moved fast and high against a grey cloud background and most could not be aged; in fact it took the combined efforts of Denise, Pat and I just to count them! Movement continued until 1858 when the last Golden Eagle glided very high to the south at 1858, the 285th of the day which is the highest daily count so far this season. Today’s flight comprised 67 adults, 17 subadults, 40 juveniles and 161 birds that could not be aged. The only other raptors seen were 2 unaged Sharp-shinned Hawks and a juvenile Bald Eagle. At Mount Lorette today Joel Duncan saw 50 Golden Eagles out of a total of 54 migrant raptors, and yesterday George Halmazna counted 110 raptors of which 106 were Golden Eagles: the main Golden Eagle movement is obviously well underway. Because of the adverse weather songbird movement was very thin with only 48 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches and 42 White-winged Crossbills moving south. At 0825 I was sheltering from the rain just below the ridge in the ruins of the hoist house when a Bushy-tailed Wood Rat ran past me and later returned giving me an excellent view of the animal, which is a new mammal species for the study. 12.16 hours (480.83) BAEA 1 (58), SSHA 2 (1182), GOEA 285 (1590) TOTAL 288 (3562)

October 6 [Day 41] For the first time this season the starting temperature was below freezing (-1C) and only rose to 5C between 1500 and 1700 despite bright sunshine all day with 5-20% cumulus cloud cover. Winds were WNW to W all day, generally 15-20 gusting 30 km/h except between 1300 and 1430 when winds gusted to 50 km/h. Despite the sparse cloud cover it was mainly located to the north of the site which greatly facilitated finding migrating raptors that generally moved high all day. The first Golden Eagle was seen at 0854 and movement was strong all day except for a minor lull between 1300 and 1400. Maximum passage was 45 birds between 1400 and 1600, but there was also a late surge with 42 birds, all Golden Eagles, moving from 1800 to 1900 and 7 more migrating high after 1900, the last bird flying at 1909 in a rapidly darkening sky. Both the combined species total of 315 and the Golden Eagle total of 273 were seasonal highs. Although other raptor movement was relatively sparse it included our latest ever record of a Broad-winged Hawk, an adult light morph, for the site, one day later than the previous latest (2006), and the 3 Cooper’s Hawks brought the season’s total to 220 equaling the previous fall record for the site (also in 2006). Passerine migration was again dominated by finches: 30 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 11 Pine Grosbeaks, 312 White-winged Crossbills, 24 Common Redpolls and 54 Pine Siskins. We are now in the main period of Golden Eagle migration that should last for the next couple of weeks and assistance at the site would be greatly appreciated: the more eyes on the sky the better! 12.25 hours (468.67) BAEA 5 (57), SSHA 28 (1180), COHA 3 (220), NOGO 2 (95), BWHA 1 (20), RTHA 1 (177), GOEA 273 (1305), MERL 2 (22) TOTAL 315 (3274)

October 5 [Day 40] At 0700 the central part of the Livingstone Range was still encased in cloud, but it had probably cleared by 0900 and from the site the ridges were clear all day. Winds were strong from the W until 1700 generally gusting 40-60 km/h and after 1700 from the WNW gusting 70-80 km/h. The temperature was 3C initially rising briefly to 6C and falling to 1C by 1900, which in combination with the wind left a little to be desired in the comfort department. On the other hand, cloud cover and light conditions were excellent with 20-70% cumulus, making the aging of all but the smallest raptors relatively straightforward. Golden Eagles started moving at 0919 indicating that the cloud to the north had dispersed and they moved fairly strongly for the rest of the day with a peak of 28 birds between 1400 and 1500 and the last bird flying south at 1902. The total of 134, which is the second highest for the season, comprised 54 adults, 26 subadults and 54 juveniles, and a juvenile flying south at 1647 was the 1000th Golden Eagle of the season. Numbers at the Mount Lorette count (Bill Wilson) were similar with 114 Golden Eagles out of a combined species count of 128 birds. Because of the high winds movement of other raptors was relatively sparse, but included our 31st Peregrine Falcon of the season at 1247. Passerine migration was also muted by the wind, but early finch movement included 2 Red Crossbills, 5 White-winged Crossbills, 16 Common Redpolls, 20 Pine Siskins and 1 Evening Grosbeak. 12 hours (456.42) BAEA 3 (52), SSHA 13 (1152), COHA 3 (217), NOGO 2 (93), RTHA 2 (176), GOEA 134 (1032), PEFA 1 (31) TOTAL 158 (2959)

October 4 [Day 39] Cloud cover was 100% altostratus with WSW to W winds 8-15 km/h and a temperature of 8C all morning, and although the pressure had dropped to its lowest point so far this season all the mountain ridges were clear. Drizzle started at 0910 followed by very light rain after 0945 but by 1200 the rain was steady, the temperature had dropped to 6C and the cloud had descended over the Livingstone Range to the north where it remained all day, so I called it a day at 1245. The only raptor seen was an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk flying south, west of the ridge at 0848. There was, however, a fair variety of other birds and finches moved in good numbers before the weather closed in: 25 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 2 Pine Grosbeaks, 1 Cassin’s Finch, 6 Red Crossbills, 100 White-winged Crossbills and 40 Pine Siskins. Other species included a Steller’s Jay and a Northern Pygmy-Owl that perched at the site and was very vocal, both calling and singing. After being noisily mobbed by 4 Red-breasted Nuthatches it flew off to the north. 5.5 hours (444.42) SSHA 1 (1139) TOTAL 1 (2801)

October 3 [Day 38] Even though the temperature was 9C at 0800, a W wind gusting 40 km/h and 100% thick altostratus cloud made observation uncomfortable for the first time in several days. These conditions prevailed until 1240 when the cloud quickly broke up into mainly cumulus and cirrus cover and the wind moderated to 15-20 km/h for the rest of the day. The temperature reached 14C, and although the cloud again thickened after 1700 observation conditions remained good. The first 2 Golden Eagles moved south down the ridge at 0839 and by 0900 6 more had moved raising hopes for a big movement. Although Golden Eagles continued to move steadily throughout the day, however, the final tally was only 69 birds, which was exceeded by 80 Sharp-shinned Hawks, the second highest total of the season. One of the day’s 4 Red-tailed Hawks was a dark morph adult “Harlan’s”, but the highlights of the day were 2 adult Peregrine Falcons at 1714 and 1728, and a juvenile Peregrine that was the last bird of the day at 1836. Three Peregrine Falcons is the highest daily October count ever for the site and brings the season’s total to 30. Because of the brisk early morning winds early passerine movement was muted, but later in the day there was a marked increase in finch migration that involved 86 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 15 Pine Grosbeaks, 6 Red Crossbills, 135 White-winged Crossbills and 105 Pine Siskins. In the early afternoon a young Red Crossbill was seen begging food from a female while perched atop a Douglas Fir near the site. 12.25 hours (438.92) BAEA 4 (49), SSHA 80 (1138), COHA 6 (214), NOGO 2 (91), UA 1 (45), RTHA 4 (174), RLHA 1 (6), GOEA 69 (898), PEFA 3 (30) TOTAL 170 (2800)

October 2 [Day 37] The barometric pressure dropped 3 hPa overnight and a further 4 hPa today, indicating a weather change from the stable high pressure system that has prevailed for the last 4 days. The day started out, however, as a continuation of that system, with the temperature at 0800 14C with light winds that persisted to 1430, when the wind shifted from NW to SW gusting to 20 km/h. The temperature reached 21C between 1400 and 1500 which felt even warmer with the light winds, but quickly diminished as thick altostratus cloud replaced the thin cirrus and cirrostratus that characterised the morning and early afternoon. The light winds meant that raptor movement started late and mainly involved Sharp-shinned Hawks before noon. It picked up in the afternoon with much high soaring flight which without the cirrus backdrop would have been very difficult to detect, although some birds obliged the CTV photojournalist, Kevin Fleming, who was filming at the site, by moving low along the ridge. Movement was steady at between 20 and 30 birds an hour from 1300 to 1800, after which only 4 more birds were seen, the last moving at 1811. Sharp-shinned Hawks (69) comprised almost half the movement and became the first species to top the 1000 level this season, while Cooper’s Hawk reached the 200 mark at 1351. The 2 Ospreys was the highest ever daily count for October and raised the record count for the species to 26, and a single adult Peregrine Falcon brought the season’s total to 27. The 8 Red-tailed Hawks included a variety of plumage types that were 2 adult light morph calurus, 1 adult intermediate morph calurus, 2 adult and 2 juvenile dark morph harlani, and 1 adult of the rare light morph harlani subspecies. Eight of the 42 Golden Eagles were seen soaring very high west of the ridge at 1337, but fortunately subsequent birds moved in a more predictable pattern. Passerine movement was also varied although no great numbers were involved. It included 1 Blue Jay, 1 White-breasted Nuthatch, 8 Townsend’s Solitaires, 2 Varied Thrushes and the first 2 Common Redpolls of the season [species #89]. A northern Pygmy-Owl singing east of the ridge at 1900 was the (somewhat belated) first of the season [#90]. The 32 bird species recorded at the site today was the highest since September 20. Bill Wilson has decided that the thrush that he saw on Sunday was in fact a Hermit Thrush and not our third Grey-cheeked Thrush for the season as originally reported. It therefore becomes the latest record of Hermit Thrush at the site. After a week’s delay because of a lack of observers, the Mount Lorette comparative count will begin tomorrow and continue to the end of the month, thanks to the efforts of Cliff Hansen who is coordinating the count. Kevin Fleming’s television piece on the Piitaistakis-South Livingstone site will air tomorrow some time between 1700 and 1900. 12.25 hours (426.67) OSPR 2 (26), BAEA 5 (45), SSHA 69 (1058), COHA 9 (208), NOGO 3 (89), UA 2 (44), RTHA 8 (170), RLHA 1 (5), GOEA 42 (829), MERL 1 (20), PEFA 1 (27) TOTAL 143 (2630)

October 1 [Day 36] It was another warm day with the temperature reaching a high of 22C which is by far the highest temperature recorded at the site in October. In fact the day’s lowest temperature at 0800, 14C, was only 0.5C lower than the highest October temperature recorded at the site in the last two years! Winds were initially NW, then WNW and finally W after 1300 never exceeding 20 km/h, and we finally saw some cloud cover: 20-40% altocumulus and lenticular in the morning and 0-20% cumulus in the afternoon. Raptor movement started fairly early with 2 juvenile Golden Eagles at 0827 and peaked between 1200 and 1500 with the passage of 91 of the day’s 147 migrants, but as happened yesterday, movement declined markedly thereafter. Unlike yesterday, however, there was a late flurry of activity with 13 birds moving after 1830, with the last two Golden Eagles gliding high to the south at 1902. The late burst of activity raised the day’s Golden Eagle total to 60, and surpassed the day’s total of 56 Sharp-shinned Hawks, that continue to move strongly. The 10 Red-tailed Hawks included 4 “Harlan’s Hawks” (all dark morph adults) and the only falcons seen were 2 columbarius Merlins (1 adult male, and 1 female/juvenile). Passerine movement, while not numerous was fairly varied and included 15 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 16 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 2 Mountain Bluebirds, 1 Townsend’s Solitaire, 70 American Robins, 2 White-crowned Sparrows, 12 Dark-eyed Juncos, 13 Pine Grosbeaks, 17 White-winged Crossbills and 107 Pine Siskins. 12.25 hours (414.42) BAEA 2 (40), NOHA 3 (45), SSHA 56 (989), COHA 8 (199), NOGO 4 (86), UA 2 (42), RTHA 10 (162), GOEA 60 (787), MERL 2 (19) TOTAL 147 (2487

September 30 [Day 35] It was another summer-like day for the last day of September with the temperature reaching a high of 21.5C from a low of 14C. Again it was completely cloudless all day with the exception of a minute cumulus cloud that formed overhead at 1710 but disappeared within 1.5 minutes! Winds were again generally light, occasionally reaching 14 km/h, and before noon there were extensive calm periods. Winds were W until 1740 when they switched to E but remained light. Despite the calm conditions raptor movement started at 1006 and peaked between 1300 and 1500 with the passage of 112 birds and it looked as if a substantial total was in the offing, but the following hour produced only 5 migrants and although 1600-1700 saw 20 birds subsequently movement just faded away. Sharp-shinned Hawks (78) just edged Golden Eagles (77) for the day’s most common migrant, and there was a good variety of other raptors including 5 Northern Harriers (all juvenile) which is the highest count of the species since August 30 and 14 Red-tailed Hawks which equals September 16 for the highest daily count this season. Three of the Red-tails were “Harlan’s Hawks”. Passerine movement was reasonably varied but involved no large numbers, but the 19 Red-breasted Nuthatches that moved today brought the month’s total to a remarkable 2349 birds. 12 hours (402.17) BAEA 2 (38), NOHA 5 (42), SSHA 78 (933), COHA 12 (191), NOGO 3 (82), RTHA 14 (152), RLHA 2 (4), GOEA 77 (727), PEFA 1 (26), UF 1 (1) TOTAL 195 (2340)
September summary We spent 29 days in the field during the month (332.4 hours) losing only one full day (September 21) to inclement weather, the days and hours being 3.6% and 4.9% above the 2006-07 site monthly average respectively. The combined species count of 2280 was a new site monthly high and was 22.1% above average. New monthly high counts were established for Osprey (24, +109%), Sharp-shinned Hawk (907, +39.3%), Cooper’s Hawk (189, +26.8%), Northern Goshawk (81, +189%), Broad-winged Hawk (19, +90%) and Rough-legged Hawk (4, +167%). Bald Eagle (37, +19.4%) and Swainson’s Hawk (2, +33.3%) equaled previous monthly high totals, Golden Eagle (714, +8.7%), Merlin (17, +25.9%) and Peregrine Falcon (26, +36.8%) were all above average and Prairie Falcon (8) equaled the average count. Only 4 species occurred in less than average numbers during the month: Northern Harrier (35, -34.6%), Red-tailed Hawk (148, -3.9%), Ferruginous Hawk (0, -100%) and American Kestrel 13 (-52.7%).

September 29 [Day 34] The high pressure system persisted bringing a cloudless sky all day and winds that never exceeded 14 km/h, from the NW to 1300 and subsequently from the W. The temperature reached a very pleasant 20C from a low of 11C. The first raptor was not seen until 1202 and only 4 birds had moved by 1300, but then they moved steadily for the rest of the day. At first most birds flew low with much soaring giving spectacular views as they moved close to the ridge, but as the day progressed the flight got higher making detection of the birds increasingly difficult against the plain blue backdrop of the sky. The flight was again dominated by Golden Eagles with the total of 117 being the second highest of the season so far. A young bird at 1520 passed close enough to see that it had a patagial tag on each wing: red on the right wing and green on the left wing. The highest hourly count was 37 from 1800 to 1900 and three birds moved after 1900 with the last gliding south at 1908. Sharp-shinned Hawks (49) again moved strongly, often accompanying Golden Eagles, but both Cooper’s Hawks and Northern Goshawks were scarce, as were buteos with only 1 Red-tailed Hawk (adult light calurus) and 1 dark morph Rough-legged Hawk seen. A Pileated Woodpecker heard calling east of the site was the 87th bird species of the year, an adult Northern Shrike perched at the site was the 88th and only the second to be seen on the ridge and the first that has occurred in September. Other movement was relatively sparse but included 9 American Pipits, the highest daily total so far this season. 12.5 hours (390.17) BAEA 3 (36), NOHA 2 (37), SSHA 49 (855), COHA 2 (179), NOGO 2 (79), RTHA 1 (138), RLHA 1 (2), GOEA 117 (650), MERL 2 (17) TOTAL 179 (2145)

September 28 [Day 33] (Bill Wilson) It was a day of stable high pressure conditions with a temperature high of 13C rising from a low of 5C and mainly W winds that were generally light to 1400 then become moderate gusting on occasion to 30 km/h. Cloud cover was altostratus all day, diaphanously thin in the morning and thickening slightly in the afternoon, but enough to make detection of raptors reasonably easy. The early morning light winds were not conducive to raptor movement and only 3 birds were seen before 1100, but thereafter the pace quickened with an average of 24 birds/ hour seen between 1100 and 1900 with maximum passage of 38 birds from 1600 to 1700. Golden Eagles (105) again dominated the flight and all three Accipiter species moved strongly. A single Osprey raised the season’s total to a record 24 and the season’s first Rough-legged Hawk was seen on exactly the same day as last year, and one day earlier than in 2006. Two of the day’s 8 Red-tailed Hawks were “Harlan’s” and 2 adult Peregrine Falcons brought the season’s total to 25. Passerine movement was dominated by White-winged Crossbills and American Robins, and 5 Yellow-rumped Warblers and 22 Mountain Bluebirds (in one flock) were the highest counts for 8 and 5 days respectively. The songbird of the day, however, was undoubtedly the 3rd Grey-cheeked Thrush of the season that uncharacteristically perched in the open for 2 minutes allowing close scrutiny, and was only finally displaced by an incoming American Robin that took over its perch. 12 hours (377.92) OSPR 1 (24), NOHA 1 (35), SSHA 55 (806), COHA 8 (177), NOGO 10 (77), UA 4 (40), RTHA 8 (137), RLHA 1 (1), GOEA 105 (533), PEFA 2 (25), UU 2 (14) TOTAL 196 (1966)

September 27 [Day 32] The wind was constantly from the W all day generally gusting 50-65 km/h and occasionally reaching 80 km/h. The temperature ranged from 6C to 12C, and from an early morning cloud cover of 10-20% altostratus, cover for the rest of the day ranged between 70-100% altostratus, cirrus, cirrostratus and cumulus giving excellent viewing conditions. And there was plenty to view with a season high 211 migrant raptors of 10 species moving steadily all day between 0820 and 1850 providing a great experience for the 50 visitors who climbed to the site to celebrate the Crowsnest Eagle Festival. Unlike last year when inclement weather confined the eagle movement to 1 bird, today was the first day of significant Golden Eagle movement with a season high count of 156 birds, 34 of which moved between 1100 and 1200. The 7 Bald Eagles were also a seasonal daily high, and single Osprey and Broad-winged Hawk (a juvenile light morph) increased the record seasonal counts for the species. Three of the 11 Red-tailed Hawks were “Harlan’s”, one of which was a juvenile intermediate morph. Because of the wind passerine movement was generally sporadic and muted, but included 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers which were the first recorded for four days, and the 80 Pine Siskins brought the September count up to 2063 birds. At 1750 4 Sandhill Cranes flew very high to the east across the Livingstone Range furnishing the second fall and third overall record for the site, and at 1819 the third Winter Wren ever recorded at the site flew and perched about 0.5 m away from me much to my surprise. Just after noon a group of visitors was very excited by the sighting of a Black Bear below the ridge to the west, but the excitement somewhat abated when someone noticed that it had an ear tag and udders! It was a splendid day that gave much pleasure to many people. 12.25 hours (365.92) OSPR 1 (23), BAEA 7 (33), NOHA 2 (34), SSHA 23 (751), COHA 5 (169), NOGO 3 (67), UA 1 (36), BWHA 1 (19), RTHA 11 (129), GOEA 156 (428), PRFA 1 (8) TOTAL 211 (1769)

September 26 [Day 31] At 0900 observation was taken over by Denise, Karola and Raymond as I had to go to Calgary. The temperatures rose to 11.5C from a low of 2C and the winds varied between WNW and W all day reaching 18 km/h in the early morning, but were generally light or even calm after 1000. Cloud cover was 0-10% cumulus until noon after which cumulus cloud cover increased steadily to 70% by 1600 and was replaced after 1700 by fairly uniform altostratus cloud that made age determination of high-flying birds difficult. The first raptor, an adult Bald Eagle, appeared at 0943, but steady movement did not start until 1012 and was fairly continuous thereafter until 1750 after which only two more Golden Eagles were seen. Maximum passage was 22 birds between 1200 and 1300. The total of 27 Golden Eagles was a disappointing count for this stage of the season and we still await a significant movement: maybe tomorrow which is the day of the Crowsnest eagle festival! All three Accipiter species moved in good numbers and at 1213 the 18th Broad-winged Hawk of the season, a light morph adult, was recorded. One of the day’s 7 Red-tailed Hawks was an adult dark morph “Harlan’s”. At 0817 a male Varied Thrush was singing at the site, the 84th bird species recorded this season. Other migrants included 26 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 36 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 6 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 1 Townsend’s Solitaire, 83 American Robins, 1 White-crowned Sparrow, 17 Dark-eyed Juncos, 128 White-winged Crossbills and 48 Pine Siskins. 12.25 hours (353.67) BAEA 3 (26), NOHA 2 (32), SSHA 31 (728), COHA 9 (164), NOGO 7 (64), UA 1 (35), BWHA 1 (18), RTHA 7 (118), GOEA 27 (272), MERL (15), PRFA 1 (7) TOTAL 98 (1558)

September 25 [Day 30] Winds were W 20-30 km/h all day, with the temperature rising to a high of 11.5 from a morning low of 6C. Cloud cover was mainly cumulus all day ranging from 90-60% until 1800 when the skies quickly cleared to 10% cumulus. A disturbance that arrived at 1530 produced a series of showers moving from the west interspersed with periods of sunshine, characterised by magnificent rainbows, which persisted until 1710. Raptor movement started early with an adult Northern Goshawk moving south at 0753, and 4 Golden Eagles moved before 0900, with subsequent migration steady all day with birds even moving high to the south during the periods of afternoon showers. The last bird of the day was a Sharp-shinned Hawk at 1846, which was the 125th migrant of the day, the first 100+ count in 9 days. Golden Eagles moved steadily all day and the total of 45 is the highest count so far this season and was exceeded today only by the 47 Sharp-shinned Hawks. For the second day in a row 7 Peregrine Falcons (5 adults, 2 juveniles) moved south bringing the season’s total to 23, and the total of 6 Bald Eagles (4 adults and 2 subadults) was the highest so far this season. The most common passerine migrants were Red-breasted Nuthatch (33), American Robin (17), White-winged Crossbill (80) and Pine Siskin (119), but the highlight of the day was the sighting of two Grey-cheeked Thrushes, the 2nd and 3rd records for the site (and for the Crowsnest Pass area). The first was seen at 1010 by Doug Dolmen as he and Teresa were climbing the trail to the site, and I saw the second close to the site at 1208: it is very unlikely that they were the same bird. 12.25 hours (341.42) BAEA 6 (23), NOHA 3 (30), SSHA 47 (697), COHA 7 (155), NOGO 2 (57), UA 1 (26), RTHA 5 (111), GOEA 45 (245), AMKE 1 (17), MERL 1 (14), PEFA 7 (23) TOTAL 125 (1460)

September 24 [Day 29] It was again 0C at 0800 but today it warmed up to 12C, with W winds gradually increasing in velocity throughout the day reaching 35 km/h at 1900. Cloud cover was initially 70-100% thick altostratus with cirrus and cirrocumulus, diminishing in the afternoon to 30% lenticular cloud before suddenly changing to 100% cirrostratus and cirrus around 1900. Throughout the day the cloud cover made an excellent observation backdrop. Once again it was a quiet morning with the first raptor not appearing until 1150, and as yesterday movement was characterized by bursts of activity interspersed with periods of quiescence. The highlight of the day was the passage of 7 Peregrine Falcons (6 adults and 1 unaged) which was the second highest daily total ever for the site, the highest being 11 on September 25 last year. Three Ospreys and a single light morph adult Broad-winged Hawk both increased the record seasonal counts for the species, and 3 of the 11 Red-tailed Hawks were “Harlan’s” (2 adults and 1 juvenile). Golden Eagles again showed signs that a large movement was in the offing, but the total finished the same as yesterday (28) with the last 2 birds gliding high to the south at 1855. The only juvenile Accipiter recorded was the single Northern Goshawk of the day. Initially there was no sign of songbird movement on the ridge but around 0840 a large mixed flock moved through involving a couple of hundred birds of 10 species, and subsequently there was some movement throughout the rest of the day. Migrants included 30 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 9 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 8 Townsend’s Solitaires, 111 American Robins, 2 Wilson’s Warblers, 59 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 Pine Grosbeak, 4 Purple Finches, 33 White-winged Crossbills, and 84 Pine Siskins. There was a rare daylight sighting of a Northern Pocket Gopher that was excavating a burrow at the site at 0955, and the first Black Bear in 9 days was seen shortly afterwards. 12 hours (329.17) OSPR 3 (22), BAEA 3 (17), SSHA 19 (650), COHA 4 (148), NOGO 1 (55), BWHA 1 (17), RTHA 11 (106), UB 1 (1), GOEA 28 (200), PEFA 7 (16) TOTAL 78 (1335)

September 23 [Day 28] The air remained cold all day with the temperature briefly reaching a high of 5C from a low of 0C, and with the wind gusting from the W to 50 km/h in the afternoon it felt even cooler. There were a few light flurries in the early morning, but after noon the morning stratocumulus gave way to progressively diminishing cumulus cloud that was down to 20% by 1900. With the exception of an early Osprey at 0954, raptor movement didn’t really get underway until after 1100 and was then steady until 1647 when movement almost ceased until after 1800 when the second juvenile Peregrine Falcon of the day moved south and the last birds of the day were a group of 5 Golden Eagles soaring high at 1828 before gliding to the south. The 5 Ospreys, 4 of which migrated between 1418 and 1459, equaled the season’s highest daily count and established a new seasonal high for the site of 19. The 28 Golden Eagles is the highest count so far this season and the evening flourish suggests that the main movement is about to start. All 11 Red-tailed Hawks were light morph calurus: 9 adults and 2 juveniles, and one of the 2 Broad-wing Hawks was a juvenile dark morph bird. Passerine movement recovered some of its momentum and included the first Pine Grosbeaks (5) of the season, appropriately first seen during one of the early morning snow flurries, and a single flock of 35 Mountain Bluebirds flying high to the south at 1755. 12.25 hours (317.17) OSPR 5 (19), SSHA 20 (631), COHA 4 (144), NOGO 2 (54), BWHA 2 (16), RTHA 11 (95), GOEA 28 (172), PEFA 2 (9), PRFA 1 (6) TOTAL 75 (1257)

September 22 [Day 27] Cloud was still draped on the Livingstone Range to the north until 1000 when it cleared for the rest of the day with the exception of a brief squall around 1800. The temperature rose to 7C from a morning low of 4C and had fallen to 2C at 1900, which with W winds gusting between 30 and 45 km/h made for a cool day. Cloud cover ranged from 100% stratocumulus in the morning to 70% cumulus, altocumulus and cirrus in the afternoon which allowed a few welcome sunny breaks. No migrant raptors were seen in the morning, with the first Golden Eagle of the day not appearing until 1235, and thereafter movement was sporadic suggesting continuing periodic occlusions of the mountains to the north, with the day’s last Golden Eagle seen at 1858. Eleven of the day’s 26 migrants were Golden Eagles, the first time this month that they have been the most abundant raptor recorded, and with the barometric pressure steadily rising I suspect that their main movement will begin within the next couple of days. Bald Eagles also moved today for the first time in a week, and for the first time this season none of the aged accipiters were juveniles. With the exception of Dark-eyed Junco (19), White-winged Crossbill (84) and Pine Siskin (104) there was very little passerine movement, but a Steller’s Jay at 0930 was the 82nd bird species for the season. 12 hours (304.92) OSPR 1 (14), BAEA 3 (14), SSHA 4 (611), COHA 3 (140), NOGO 2 (52), RTHA 1 (84), GOEA 11 (144), PEFA 1 (7) TOTAL 26 (1182)

September 21 NO OBSERVATION The Livingstone Ridge was still visible in the early morning so I climbed the 300 m to the site arriving at 0800. At 0805 steady rain started and at 0830 low stratus cloud rolled up the ridge from the east reducing visibility to less than 10 m so I retreated. Rain stopped by late morning but the cloud on the main Livingstone Range didn’t clear.

September 20 [Day 26] The temperature at 0800 was a season high 16C but it only climbed to 17.5C and was 13.5C at 1900. The wind was light from the east all day and 60-100% cirrostratus and cirrus cloud gave way after 1600 to 60-100% altocumulus and cirrus providing good to excellent viewing conditions all day despite the persistence of smoke haze. Although there was not a lot of raptor movement, the variety was excellent with 11 species (and an additional subspecies) moving. The first Sharp-shinned Hawk flew south at 0816 but by 1300 only 9 birds had been seen. The pace quickened after 1300 with the birds moving in clusters interspersed with blank periods and the last bird, a Red-tailed Hawk, was seen at 1735. The 5 Ospreys were a season high and the 4 Broad-winged Hawks brought the season's total to 14, which is a new high count for the site. Two of the 7 Red-tailed Hawks were adult dark morph "Harlan's Hawks", and for the first time this season adult Sharp-shinned Hawks outnumbered juveniles. As yesterday only 1 Golden Eagle (a juvenile) moved south but with the barometer falling and cooler, wetter weather forecasted for the next couple of days they may finally be given an incentive to migrate. Passerine movement was steady in the morning but virtually non-existent after noon. Migrants included 14 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 6 Golden-crowned and 21 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 10 Mountain Bluebirds, 2 Townsend's Solitaires, 72 American Robins, 1 American Pipit, 11 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 80 White-winged Crossbills and 68 Pine Siskins. Twenty-six of the day's 34 Dark-eyed Juncos were cismontanus, a race that mainly breeds in NE British Columbia and S Yukon. 12.25 (292.92) OSPR 5 (13), NOHA 4 (27), SSHA 12 (607), COHA 6 (137), NOGO 1 (50), BWHA 4 (14), RTHA 7 (83), GOEA 1 (133), AMKE 1 (16), MERL 2 (13), PEFA 1 (6), UU 1 (12) TOTAL 45 (1156)

September 19 [Day 25] The stable warm weather continued today with the temperature reaching a high of 21C from a starting temperature of 15C. Winds were light westerly in the morning but increased to 25-35 km/h in the afternoon before suddenly changing to easterly at 1845. Cloud cover was 50-100% cirrostratus and cirrus all day mainly giving reasonable viewing conditions. The first migrant raptor, a juvenile Northern Harrier, did not appear until 1123 and movement was then fairly slow but steady until 1447 after which it became very sporadic until the passage of the last bird of the day, an Osprey at 1819. Thirty-one of the day's 39 migrants were accipiters, and only 1 migrant Golden Eagle, a subadult, moved south at 1242. It will obviously take a change in the weather to get them moving. Passerine migration, on the other hand, was fairly good with the highlight being an adult female Cape May Warbler at 1056. This is the 3rd record for the site and the latest, the other two occurrences being September 6 and September 7 in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Also late was a Vesper Sparrow, the previous latest record being September 7 in 2007, and 5 Barn Swallows that are 13 days later than the previous latest record (September 6, 2007). Other migrants included 54 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 11 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 1 Townsend's Warbler, 1 Wilson's Warbler and 33 Dark-eyed Juncos of 4 subspecies (montanus, mearnsii, cismontanus and hyemalis). For the third day in a row Pine Siskin numbers were in single figures and their migration appears to be losing steam. Other finch migrants were 20 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 4 Red Crossbills and 20 White-winged Crossbills. A Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel made its first appearance in 8 days, and a Northwestern Fritillary and 2 Long Dash Skippers were on the wing. 12.25 hours (280.67) OSPR 1 (8), NOHA 1 (23), SSHA 17 (595), COHA 9 (131), NOGO 4 (49), UA 1 (25), RTHA 4 (76), GOEA 1 (132), MERL 1 (11) TOTAL 39 (1111)