March 21 [Day 28] (Valley View site) It was another delightful day with the temperature reaching a season high 12.5C from a low of 4C, with mainly SW ground winds gusting to 40 km/h at 0900 then diminishing to almost calm conditions after 1600. Ridge winds were WNW moderate to strong to 1600, and then west mainly light after 1600, and cloud conditions were a mixture of mainly thin altostratus, cirrus and cumulus producing an excellent observation backdrop. The cloud thickened and lowered quickly after 1800 and rain began at 1845 becoming fairly heavy at 1915 at which point I left. Raptor movement started at 0839 and became progressively stronger with a dip in numbers only from 1300 to 1400 when15 birds passed. Birds glided high and fast along the Livingstone Range until 1630 when the wind died and birds then resorted to slow soaring flight with spectacular kettles of Bald and Golden Eagles forming over the ridges. The day’s maximum passage was 48 birds between 1700 and 1800 which comprised 10 Bald Eagles and 37 Golden Eagles and the day’s only Sharp-shinned Hawk which proved to be the day’s last migrant at 1755. Everything then closed down for the rest of the day. The total of 35 Bald Eagles is the highest daily spring count for the site and the 204 Golden Eagles is the second highest behind yesterday’s count. For the first time this season the Golden Eagle count included 8% immature birds: 11 subadults and 6 juveniles, and the total of 8 migrant raptor species is the highest recorded so far this season. Of the non-raptor migrants the most spectacular was a line of 25 Tundra Swans flying high to the east over the Livingstone Range against a blue sky at 1050. 12 hours (302.7) BAEA 35 (194), SSHA 1 (4), NOGO 2 (15), RTHA 1 (2), RLHA 3 (12), GOEA 204 (1557), MERL 1 (1), PRFA 1 (7) TOTAL 248 (1792)
Mount Lorette (Cliff Hansen) Until 1500 conditions were very similar to those at Piitaistakis-South Livingstone with the temperature climbing to 10C from a low of 0C, strong SW ridge winds and a 5-10% cirrus and cumulus cloud cover. After 1500 the winds shifted to NE, the temperature fell to 2C at 1900 and the cloud thickened to 100% and lowered, partially obscuring the Fisher Range for most of the afternoon. Raptor migration started quite promisingly with the first Golden Eagle seen at 0904 and 6 birds moving before 1000. When the day’s last 2 Golden Eagles were recorded at 1327, however, the day’s count was a disappointing 13 birds. 11.75 hours (205) GOEA 12 (390), UE 1 (4) TOTAL 13 (421)