May 12 [Day 77] There was 10 cm of fresh snow on the ridge but everything was clear until 0910 when snow began which persisted with a few breaks until 1735 adding another 4.5 cm. Winds were N-NE gusting up to 25 km/h until 1800 when they shifted to SW-WSW followed by a general clearing. To add to the fun there were occasional thunder showers and at 1435 a simultaneous lightening flash and thunder clap occurred right overhead in a snow pellet white-out which left me tingling for a few minutes. Through all this the temperature only ranged from 0C to 2C all day: it must be spring! There were only two relatively clear periods and in the first a juvenile dark morph Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk flew by at 0954 and in the second an Osprey went north at 1350. During this second clear period 3 resident adult Golden Eagles flew together to the south. As might be expected songbirds were not much in evidence but 4 Brewer’s Blackbirds flew high over the ridge towards the west at 0836 and the season’s first two Cedar Waxwings were perched west of the ridge at 1340. 12.67 hours (889.3) OSPR 1 (19), RTHA 1 (214) TOTAL 2 (4081)

May 11 [Day 76] I returned home from the Gala at 0030 and after what seemed to be 5 minutes sleep I was climbing the ridge at 0730. At 0740 heavy wet snow began which turned to rain at 0900 when I collected the equipment and went down to the Valley View site where I watched the rain fall until 1730 when I finally gave up. The peaks were obscured all day and although the ridge appeared after 1600 there was little prospect of movement. 10 hours (876.7) No migrant raptors

May 10 [Day 75] (Vance) The winds were W and occasionally SW all day gusting to 45 km/h with stratocumulus and cumulus cloud cover ranging from 50-100% and temperatures that rose to 5 from a low of -1.5C. Movement was fairly steady after 1100 and dominated by eagles with 6 Bald and 11 Golden Eagles tallied, the last of which moved at 1830. The Golden Eagle flight comprised 1 subadult, 9 juveniles and 1 unaged bird, and the resident pair was again in evidence with the male displaying but no sign of nesting. The RMERF fundraising Gala at Bragg Creek in the evening was a great success, in large part owing to the wonderful organization of our Treasurer Claire to whom we all owe a great debt of thanks. 13.5 hours (866.7) BAEA 6 (450), NOHA 1 (26), SSHA 2 (154), GOEA 11 (2951), UU 1 (6) TOTAL 21 (4079)

May 9 [Day 74] The day started with heavy wet snow falling with everything obscured, but it stopped at 0800 leaving 8.5cm fresh on the ground. I climbed to the ridge where the wind was NE-E gusting to 40 km/h and -4C which left a little to be desired in the comfort department, and light snow continued to 1310 after which there were periods of snow and flurries to 1810 with generally overcast skies. The clouds began to break by late afternoon, the wind dropped and by 1900 it was calm, sunny and the temperature had risen to 0C. Because of the conditions only three migrants were seen including a juvenile Golden Eagle at 1752 which I first saw soaring well to the south. It slowly glided northward towards me and soared high immediately to the south, then continued to glide to the north. Suddenly I was aware of the bird plummeting vertically to the ground in a hunting stoop just to the south of the site and by running to the edge of the hill I saw it perched on the ground empty-taloned where it was immediately mobbed by two resident ravens. The eagle raised its hackle feathers and looked splendidly fierce for a few seconds before flying to the west with the ravens in hot pursuit, where it soared again before gliding to the north. Meanwhile the Columbian Ground Squirrel that was the intended meal was giving its call note every couple of seconds for several minutes, either as an “all clear” signal or as a “where’s my clean underwear?” call. The most notable non-raptor sighting was 4 American Crows flying west at 1410, the first time in three field seasons that I have seen them above the ridge. 12.75 hours (853.2) BAEA 1 (444), GOEA 1 (2940), PRFA 1 (16) TOTAL 3 (4058)

May 8 [Day 73] I again watched from the Valley View site and with moderate to strong W winds on the ridge all day this time it proved to be the right decision. Cloud cover was 70-100% cumulus, stratus and, late in the day, cirrus and after some early morning cloud drape the mountains were clear all day except for the day’s only serous snow/hail event from 1810 to 1850 when everything was obscured. The temperature at the base of the ridge reached 7C from a low of 1.5C. The favourable winds and clear ridges allowed a reasonable movement of 17 raptors between 0951 and 1905, the highlight of which was an adult light morph Broad-winged Hawk at 1116 which was the 5^th of the season and equals the highest count for a RMERF spring count. The 10 Golden Eagles comprised 3 subadults and 7 juveniles, but it is doubtful if the birds would have reached Mount Lorette today as a snowfall of 20-30cm was forecast for the Kananaskis Valley. 12.67 hours (840.4) BAEA 1 (443), SSHA 2 (152), COHA 2 (31), BWHA 1 (5), GOEA 10 (2939), PRFA 1 (15) TOTAL 17 (4055)

May 7 [Day 72] After having been soaked the day before and with thunderstorms forecasted today I decide to watch from the Valley View site. In the event I could have been on the ridge as showers were brief and confined to the afternoon and the thunder comprised only a few rumbles. Both the ground and ridge winds were light all day and cloud cover was 100% cumulus/stratus apart from mid afternoon when it cleared to 80-90%. Raptor movement was very sparse and all but one of the 8 birds seen occurred between 1141 and 1212, with an additional Sharp-shinned Hawk flying north at 1509. The unsettled weather is supposed to stay until Friday, but we shall see! 11 hours (827.7) SSHA 3 (150), COHA 3 (29), NOGO 1 (124), GOEA 1 (2929) TOTAL 8 (4038)

May 6 [Day 71] Conditions were calm until noon when NE-NNE winds developed bringing snow pellet, hail and rain showers that became heavy after 1515 necessitating a hasty retreat from the ridge. The morning saw a few sunny breaks in the stratocumulus cloud cover, but after the wind shift the mountains were often shrouded in cloud and after 1515 everything was obscured. The temperature rose to 6C from an initial 3.5C but fell to 2C by 1500. No migrant raptors were seen and there was little other movement with the exception of two medium-sized shorebirds flying high to the north at 0915 tantalizingly just too far to the west to allow specific identification. 9 hours (816.7) No migrant raptors