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.