March 1 [Day 14] (Valley View site) A season high temperature of 10C was reached at 1500 from a low of 0.5C and it was still 7C at 1800. Ground winds were mainly NW-N 10-25 km/h until 1540 when they became predominantly W 15-35 km/h, and ridge winds appeared to be moderate NW all day. It was cloudless to 1000 when cirrus cloud began to develop quickly reaching 70-80% and thickening in the afternoon to provide excellent viewing conditions. The first raptor of the day was a non-migratory juvenile Golden Eagle at 0932 that glided slowly to the north along the ridge then briefly landed and picked up a stick (c50 cm) and continued to fly to the north with it. It then soared briefly, dropped the stick and immediately dived and retrieved it in mid-air and flew off with it towards the east. I have observed this behaviour in a juvenile bird in November, but this is the first time I have seen it in the spring. The first migrant raptor was an adult Bald Eagle at 1158 and by 1500 only 4 more birds had moved. The next hour, however, yielded 7 birds and 1600 to 1700 9 more, with the last of the day’s 22 migrants being an adult Bald Eagle at 1730. Eagles again dominated the flight with 10 Bald Eagles (9a,1sa) and 9 Golden Eagles (6a,3sa) moving north. For the first time this season no Pine Grosbeaks were recorded and the day seemed awfully quiet without their calls and songs. 11.08 hours (153.4) BAEA 10 (85), NOGO 2 (9), RLHA 1 (10), GOEA 9 (65) TOTAL 22 (172)
Mount Lorette [Day 1] (Cliff Hansen) This is the 19th straight spring that raptor counts have been conducted at the site. The temperature ranged from -10C to 10C and had fallen to -2C by 1800. Ground winds were light SW all day, and ridge winds also appeared to be light as smoke from a burn to the SE rose almost vertically. Cirrus cloud developed after 0900 reaching 50-60% between 1200 and 1700 before decreasing again. Raptor movement was thin with only a single adult Bald Eagle and 2 adult Golden Eagles moving between 1236 and 1456, and a Northern Shrike was the only notable non-raptor species. 10.75 hours (10.75) BAEA 1 (1), GOEA 2 (2) TOTAL 3 (3)