March 7 [Day 16] Winds were mainly W-SW all day, moderate in the morning and moderate to strong in the afternoon. The temperature ranged from 2C to 8C and variable altocumulus and altostratus cloud in the morning gave way to a complete blue-out after noon. The first Golden Eagle moved at 0843, the earliest yet this season, and by 1100 7 more raptors had moved north raising expectations of a strong movement. No eagle was then seen until 1342 and movement thereafter was sporadic but steady until the last Golden Eagle moved north at 1806. The last Bald Eagle of the day at 1706 was the 100^th seen this season. The resident pair again copulated in exactly the same place as the last two days at 1528, but this time the male landed directly on the female instead of perching beside her on the ground for a few seconds before mounting. A high intensity sky-dancing display by the male at 1732 was the most prolonged and spectacular seen so far this season. No bird was seen on the aerie today. Passerine migrants were 24 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches and 70 Bohemian Waxwings, and the Northern Pygmy-Owl was around for much of the day. 11 hours (163.3) BAEA 10 (100), NOGO 2 (7), GOEA 22 (150) TOTAL 34 (265)

Mount Lorette (Cliff) 11.25 hours (77.25) GOEA 2 (18) TOTAL 2 (21)

March 6 [Day 15] The starting temperature was -2C but N winds gusting to 50 km/k, and stronger aloft, made it feel much cooler. North winds persisted until 1330 when they shifted to SW to WNW of similar strength. The high was 7C and apart from a cloudless period from 1000 to 1330 the cloud cover was a useful 20-80% altostratus and cirrus. The morning N winds delayed the first migrant until 1034 and migration remained slow and sporadic until 1500 after which 27 of the day’s 39 migrants moved. Unlike yesterday no birds moved after 1800 with the last migrant migrating high over the Livingstone Range at 1758. With the exception of a subadult Bald Eagle, all the migrant raptors were adults. One of the resident Golden Eagles was displaying at 0710 and the pair was conspicuous west of the ridge all day. At 1319 the pair was observed copulating on the same snow-free hill as yesterday, where the female spent a number of periods up to1 hour 19 minutes perched. At 1650 the male flew north carrying a 1.2 m stick which it dropped and quickly recovered once, possibly to augment an alternate nest. At 1830, the pair soared high over the ridge then glided west where female briefly visited the aerie for the only time today, before gliding south, presumably to roost. The only probable passerine migrants were 35 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches flying north at 1635. 11.25 hours (152.3) BAEA 10 (90), NOGO 1 (5), GOEA 28 (128) TOTAL 39 (231)

Mount Lorette (Brian): 11 hours (66) GOEA 2 (16) TOTAL (19)

March 5 [Day 14] Almost clear skies allowed the temperature to fall to -12C at 0720 and it only briefly rose to 3C at 1700. After 1000 the WNW winds gradually increased to strong by mid afternoon, and cloud cover was 20-40% cumulus until after 1800 when the sky became cloudless. The first migrant wasn’t seen until 1238 then movement was steady but slow until late in the day when 8 Golden Eagles and 1 Bald Eagle moved along the Livingstone Ridge after 1800 with the last migrant, which was the 100^th Golden Eagle of the season, still moving north at 1832. The count of 28 Golden Eagles is the highest so far this season and the strong late movement suggests that the main movement is beginning. The aerie is now adorned with fresh conifer branches and the resident pair was in evidence for much of the afternoon although neither bird was seen to visit the nest. At 1531 the female was perched on a snow-free slope to the SE, and was joined at 1542 by the male who, after perching beside her for about 10 seconds, copulated with her. At 1545 both birds took off and soared low over the hill, both performing low-intensity display flights. 11.33 hours (141) BAEA 4 (80) GOEA 28 (100) PRFA 1 (2) TOTAL 33 (192)

Mount Lorette (Cliff): The highest Golden Eagle count of the season so far with birds moving from 1335 to 1734, and the resident pair was seen for the first time over Mount Allan with one bird displaying. 11.25 hours (55) BAEA 1 (3) GOEA 8 (14) TOTAL 9 (17)

March 4 No observation. It snowed all morning and flurries continued for much of the afternoon. It kept appearing that it was about to clear but cloud continued to drape the Livingstone Ridge all afternoon. Sunny conditions are forecast for the next four days, so I expect to see a marked increase in numbers of migrants.

Mount Lorette: It was a similar situation with the ridges never really clearing, with the only raptor seen being a probably non-migrating Northern Goshawk. The highlight of Joel’s day was a male Belted Kingfisher on the Kananaskis River. 10 hours (43.75), no migrant raptors.

March 3 [Day 13] A temperature range of -2C to 1C and strong W to WNW winds all day made observation uncomfortable, although 80-100% altostratus and cumulus cloud made detection of birds easy. The day started promisingly enough with 4 Bald Eagles and a Golden Eagle moving between 0939 and 0957, but thereafter migration was sporadic with most of the birds being buffeted by the strong winds. The female resident Golden Eagle perched above the aerie for about 40 minutes in mid morning while the male hunted, but no food exchange was observed and the nest itself was not visited. A flock of 40 Bohemian Waxwings was the largest seen so far this season. 10.75 hours (129.7) BAEA 4 (76), RLHA 1 (5), GOEA 11 (72) TOTAL 16 (159)

Mount Lorette 11 hours (33.75) GOEA 3 (6) TOTAL 3 (8)

March 2 [Day 12] The day started calm, cloudless and -5C with 40-60% cumulus cloud after 1100 and increasingly strong W-WNW winds developing after1300. Despite the mainly sunny skies the temperature high was only 3C. Movement started early with an adult Golden Eagle at 0941 and with a few lulls was fairly steady all day until 1750 when the last Golden Eagle moved north. With the exception of 1 subadult, all 25 Golden Eagles were adults, and of the 14 Bald Eagles, 11 were adult, 1 subadult and 2 juvenile. Both the Bald and Golden Eagle totals were season high counts to date. One of the resident Golden Eagles was hunting the ridge at 0748, and the aerie was visited at 1242. A resident bird hunting low and close to the observers at 1443 gave us a spectacular view. Migrant passerines comprised 97 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 5 Common Redpolls, and the first Pine Siskins (4) and European Starling of the season. 11 hours (119.2) BAEA 14 (72), NOGO 1 (4), GOEA 25 (61) TOTAL 40 (143)

Mount Lorette 11.75 hours (22.75) BAEA 1 (2), GOEA 1 (3) TOTAL 2 (5)

March 1 [Day 11] Snow fell until 0910 after which the ridges quickly cleared. Winds were strong WNW all day only moderating late in the day, the temperature reached 3C from a low of 0C, and apart from another period of snow/now pellets from 1625 to 1745 the skies were generally 40-80% cumulus. Raptor movement was slow with the first migrant Bald Eagles appearing at 1324 and it was only a late movement of 5 Bald Eagles between 1635 and 1647 that made the day’s total look better than it actually felt! After the resident Golden Eagle pair spent a fair bit of time on and around Bluff Mountain this week, one of the birds was seen on an aerie for the first time at 0931. The nest is on a recessed ledge high on an east-facing cliff of Bluff Mountain. At 1350, a bird (probably the female) was seen tearing prey and feeding while perched on a ledge above the nest, and the presumed male briefly joined her for a few seconds at 1430, possibly bringing prey. At 1402 a bird was seen flying from the nest, and a display flight was observed over the valley east of the nest site at 1250. A Northern Pygmy-Owl perched and sang close to the observers between 1000 and 1030 and again after 1800. 11 hours (108.2) BAEA 9 (58), GOEA 1 (36) TOTAL 10 (103)

Mount Lorette: 10 hours (10) BAEA 1 (1), GOEA 2 (2) TOTAL 3 (3)