March 14 [Day 23] With it snowing in the morning, the ridges obscured and a forecast of 5-10 cm of further snow, the prospect for the day was not good. I arrived at the site just before 1100 with snow still falling but with the southern part of the ridge clear. At 1145 the snow stopped leaving just 1 cm fresh on the ground, and by 1240 all peaks and ridges were clear. The temperature which was 0C at 1100 rose to 4C, and light to moderate SW-W winds established for the rest of the day. Apart from a few short flurries in the afternoon, sky conditions for observation were excellent with 70-90% cumulus, cirrus and altocumulus cloud cover. The first migrant Golden Eagle appeared at 1149 shortly after the snow stopped and by 1300 38 birds had moved to the north even though the higher peaks of the Livingstone Range were still shrouded in cloud until 1240. Oddly, after the peaks cleared movement slowed significantly until 1726 when the flow started again with 27 birds moving between 1800 and 1900 and 7 more after 1900, the last at 1924. The non-raptor highlight of the day was 3 male Common Mergansers flying high to the west over the Livingstone Range at 1301: they were the first ducks ever identified during a count at the site. The only passerine migrants were a flock of 23 Bohemian Waxwings flying north at 1915. 8.67 hours (240.7) BAEA 4 (184), NOGO 3 (26), GOEA 105 (756) TOTAL 112 (982)

Mount Lorette (Brian) The sky was cloudless until mid afternoon when high cirrus cloud developed making observation easier. Upper winds were NW moderate and the temperature high was 3C. Movement was slow but steady from 1030 to 1800. 11 hours (154.4) BAEA 1 (26), GOEA 20 (236) TOTAL 21 (266)

March 13 [Day 22] Winds were light all day mainly W to WSW, and the cloudless skies gave way after 1100 to gradually increasing cumulus then altostratus and cirrus cloud cover reaching 90% at 1900. The clear sky allowed the temperature to drop to -10C at 0800, reaching a high of 5C at 1600. The initial calm, cool conditions meant that the first migrant raptor did not appear until 1056, but subsequent movement was steady until 1800, after which only 4 birds were seen with the last, a Rough-legged Hawk, moving north at 1824. Peak movement was 32 birds between 1400 and 1500. Because of the conditions many of the birds flew high to the north west of the ridge, and most spent some time in soaring flight. The first Merlin of the season flew north at 1222. The combined species total of 172 and the Golden Eagle Total of 147 are both season-high counts. The daily total bird species count of 24 is also the highest so far this year. 11.33 hours (232) BAEA 18 (180), NOGO 4 (23), RLHA 2 (7), GOEA 147 (651), MERL 1 (1) TOTAL 172 (870)

Mount Lorette (Alan) It was calm and cloudless all day with the temperature only reaching 2.5C from a low of -12C. The first of the season’s high 85 Golden Eagles appeared at 1020, but movement was slow until 1630 after which 65 birds migrated to the NW over Mount Lorette with the last moving at 1925. 11.5 hours (143.3) BAEA 5 (25), GOEA 85 (216) TOTAL 90 (245)

March 12 [Day 21] The ridge and upper winds were WNW all day moderate to strong up to 1400 and strong thereafter. In the valley the temperature ranged from -2C to (briefly) 4C and winds gusting to 60 km/h in the afternoon made for chilly viewing. In compensation for most of the day the cloud cover was 30-80% cumulus which greatly assisted in locating birds, most of which were migrating high above the ridge. Movement started early with 6 migrants before 0900 including the earliest Golden Eagle yet at 0822, but it was almost 1.5 hours later that the 7^th bird appeared. Migration was then slow but steady until 1400 when the pace quickened with the next 5 hours producing 107 of the day’s 136 migrants, which is the highest total so far, as also is the day’s count of 114 Golden Eagles. A male dark-eyed [Oregon] Junco was the 30^th species of the year, and other migrants included 12 Bohemian Waxwings and 7 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches. 11.5 hours (220.7) BAEA 17 (162), NOGO 5 (19), GOEA 114 (504) TOTAL 136 (698)

Mount Lorette (Alan) Conditions for migration appeared good with 20-60% cumulus cloud and W-WNW moderate to strong winds, but only 25 migrants were seen between 0925 and 1715, with 23 of the birds moving after noon. 10.5 hours (131.9) BAEA 5 (20), UA 1 (1), GOEA 19 (131) TOTAL 25 (155)

March 11 [Day 20] (Raymond) The wind was strong westerly all day, with cloud draping and occasionally obscuring the ridge. There was light rain up to mid morning and light snow flurries for much of the afternoon, and the temperature ranged from 2C to 5C. Despite the poor early conditions the first Golden Eagle went north at 0830, the earliest yet, and movement was slow but persistent all day until 1834 when the last Bald Eagle appeared. Five of the eagles could not be identified before they disappeared into the snow. The resident birds were only ever seen singly, and the only migrant passerines were a flock of 40 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches at 1757. 11.5 hours (209.2) BAEA 3 (145), GOEA 25 (390), UE 5 (5) TOTAL 33 (562)

Mount Lorette (Alan) Conditions were similar with rain in the early morning, snow from 1200 to 1400 and then flurries for the rest of the day, with strong SW winds all day. The 4 eagles seen moved between 1436 and 1650 11 hours (121.4) BAEA 1 (15) GOEA 2 (112), UE 1 (2) TOTAL 4 (130)

March 10 [Day 19] For most of the day thick altostratus cloud in the form of a Chinook Arch parked above the Livingstone Range providing an excellent backdrop against which to view migrants. The warm strong westerly winds raised the temperature to a season-high 11C from a low of 2C. The first Golden Eagle of the day was the earliest seen yet at 0839 (0739 MST) and the last was the latest yet at 1939, exactly 11 hours later. Movement was steady all day, the rate gradually increasing to a maximum passage of 22 birds from 1700 to 1800. The totals of 103 Golden Eagles and 5 Northern Goshawks are both season-highs. The resident pair perched and probably copulated on the Bluff Mountain ridge at 1525 and the female visited the nest at 1613 and stayed 72 seconds: the longest time yet observed. The morning saw the strongest passerine movement to date, including 7 American Robins (the first of the season), 2 Bohemian Waxwings, 70 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 70 Red Crossbills (also the first) and 57 Pine Siskins. An unidentified swan flying high to the south at 1031 was a first for the site. 11.83 hours (197.7) BAEA 15 (142), NOGO 5 (14), GOEA 103 (365) TOTAL 123 (529)

Mount Lorette (Joel) The last migrant of the day was an unidentified eagle moving almost in the dark at 1950. 10.17 hours (110.4) BAEA 3 (14), GOEA 40 (110), UE 1 (1) TOTAL 44 (126)

March 9 [Day 18] [NOTE change to Mountain Daylight Time: all times quoted are now MDT]. Before 1600 the sky had no more than 5% cumulus cloud making viewing difficult until high cirrus and altostratus cloud moved in from the west. The temperature ranged from -2C to 6C and ground winds were mainly W-WSW generally below 15 km/h except for mid afternoon when occasional gusts exceeded 80 km/h. At 1535 an exceptional gust sent everything at the site flying and when it subsided I was able to pick up the two halves of my broken spotting scope! Ridge winds were WNW moderate to strong all day giving excellent lift conditions. Raptor movement was steady and almost continuous between 0916 and 1918 with peak movement of 31 birds between 1700 and 1800. Both the Bald Eagle total of 22 (17a, 3sa, 2j) and the Golden Eagle total of 88 (87a, 1sa) were season-highs. The resident pair was again conspicuous and at 1554 the birds were observed copulating on the now usual grassy slope west of the ridge. The only passerine migrants were 3 European Starlings flying north at 1915. 11.33 hours (185.8) BAEA 22 (127), NOGO 1 (9), GOEA 88 (262) TOTAL 111 (406)

Mount Lorette (Bill) For the first time there was significant passage over the site between 0922 and 1932, but the totals were only about half of those at South Livingstone. We regret that Cliff Hansen, who has ably organized the count this spring, has seriously aggravated a knee condition as the result of trudging through deep snow to the site and will be unable to participate further in the count this season. We wish him a speedy recovery. 12 hours (100.3) BAEA 8 (11), NOGO 1 (1), GOEA 43 (70) TOTAL 52 (82)

March 8 [Day 17] Clear blue skies persisted until 1000 when cumulus and altostratus cloud gradually developed reaching 80% between 1500 and 1600 and diminishing to 5% at 1800. Temperatures ranged from -1C to 7.5C, and the winds initially from the north increased to moderate to strong W-WNW after 1400. Raptor migration was initially slow with only 6 birds moving before 1422 when the pace quickened and peaked between 1700 and 1800 with the passage of 8 Golden Eagles and 1 Bald Eagle. The main movement has not yet started, but any day now! The day’s pornithological event was earlier than usual with the resident pair copulating on the ridge-top above the nest at 1020. The female visited the nest for about a minute at 1530 before gliding 200 m to the south and perching on the cliff top. About 100 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches flying to the north along the ridge were the only passerine migrants. 11.25 hours (174.5) BAEA 5 (105) NOGO 1 (8) GOEA 24 (174) TOTAL 30 (295)

Mount Lorette (Cliff) There was a season-high count of 9 adult Golden Eagles between 1230 and 1520 and the resident pair was observed hunting from time to time. A stonefly hatch along the Kananaskis River attracted about 150 fly-catching Bohemian Waxwings, two of which took exception to Cliff’s presence and made a creditable attempt to remove his toque! 11 hours (88.25) GOEA 9 (27) TOTAL 9 (30)