August 27 [Day 3] A delightful morning with high cirrus cloud, light westerly winds and until 1000 a continuous fog bank stretching to the east below the ridge. The temperature reached 11C at noon but then dropped as the winds freshened and changed to SE and then E bringing rain showers then occasional hail by 1500. By 1600 the ridge was enveloped in cloud and the temperature had dropped to 4C. Before the weather changed we saw the first steady raptor movement of the season, with 23 birds of 8 different species heading south and a non-migratory Prairie Falcon was the ninth raptor species for the day. The first Golden Eagle, a first subadult-plumaged bird came past at 1149 making it the earliest fall migrant seen yet on a RMERF count. Most of the other migrants were juveniles, although, surprisingly, the Northern Goshawk was an adult. A juvenile Golden Eagle was seen a couple of times and may be the offspring of the resident pair, but it has yet to be seen in their company. As a result of the calm conditions until mid afternoon, the total bird species count rose to 28 including the first Winter Wren at the site and 2 Brewer’s Sparrows in small flocks of Chipping Sparrows. 8.5 hours (24.25) BAEA 1 (1), NOHA 2 (2), SSHA 3 (4), COHA 7 (8), NOGO 1 (1), RTHA 7 (8), GOEA 1 (1), AMKE 1 (1) TOTAL 23 (26)

August 26 [Day 2] Rain fell overnight and the ridges were wrapped in cloud until around 1130. Winds again were from the west gusting to 60km/h and the temperature of 11C at 1200 fell steadily throughout the afternoon to 6C at 1800 as rain developed again after 1400. Not surprisingly, only one migrant raptor braved the conditions: a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk at 1628. The resident Golden Eagles were again conspicuous and an un-aged third bird in the area might have been this year’s offspring. A small mixed flock of passerines included the first Blackpoll Warbler (a first fall female) seen at the site, and earlier two Vesper Sparrows were also a first. 6.5 hours (15.75) SSHA 1 (1) TOTAL 1 (3)

August 25 [Day 1] Because of severe drought conditions, much of the back country is closed to vehicles, but fortunately we are still able to access the parking area below the observation site. West to WSW winds gusting to 65km/h prevailed all day raising the temperature to 20C, with sunshine and scattered cloud. The opening day produced just 2 migrant raptors, and the resident pair of adult Golden Eagles, with no sign of a juvenile as yet. The high winds kept the total species count to just 14 bird species, but an otherwise dull afternoon was enlivened by watching the progress of an adult Black Bear moving to the north and feeding near the base of the ridge. 9.25 hours (9.25) COHA 1 (1), RTHA 1 (1) TOTAL 2 (2)