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)