October 31 [Day 64] Strong westerly winds all day gusting to 90 km/h in the afternoon combined with temperatures that ranged from -2C to 2.5C made observation uncomfortable, but the cloud cover of 40-100% cirrus, altostratus and lenticular cloud made locating and identifying birds easy. Raptor movement started at 0835 and apart from a few gaps was fairly continuous until 1744 when the last Bald Eagle went through. At 1625 our second Gyrfalcon, an adult grey morph female, glided by which also proved to be the 7500th migrant raptor of the season; the next bird seen was the 5100th Golden Eagle of the season. As 17 of the 67 Golden Eagles seen today were juveniles it seems probable that there are still a few more birds to come through. Finches once again dominated passerine migration with significant movement of White-winged Crossbills for the first time this season: Bohemian Waxwing 16, Purple Finch 7, Grey-crowned Rosy Finch 103, Pine Grosbeak 2, Red Crossbill 38, White-winged Crossbill 26, Common Redpoll 485 and Pine Siskin 1. In October we spent 30 days at the site losing just 1 day to weather and only having 1 other day curtailed because of weather. The 344 hours spent at the site was 14.8% higher than in 2006 and in this time we counted a total of 5606 migrant raptors, 31.4% higher than last year’s October total and the highest monthly count ever conducted by RMERF. Ospreys (3) were counted in the month for the first time at the site including our latest bird ever on the 18th, the 308 Bald Eagles are 29.4% higher than last year’s count and the 9 harriers are one more than last year. The total of 657 Sharp-shinned Hawks is 48.6% above last October’s count, while the 36 Cooper’s Hawks are 28% lower and the 104 Northern Goshawks are 11.8% higher than last year. Both Red-tailed Hawk (31: -64.4%) and Rough-legged Hawk (50: -56.9%) are significantly lower than last October’s counts. It was a fabulous month for Golden Eagles with the monthly count of 4352 being 36.9% higher than last year’s October count. No American Kestrels were counted in October this year while the 19 Merlins were 9.5% less than last year and the 2 Gyrfalcons are the same. The strong peregrine movement of September continued into October with 8 birds passing, 300% more than in October last year, while the 3 migrant Prairie Falcons were 70% lower than last year. 11.17 hours (721.59) BAEA 12 (349), NOGO 3 (130), RLHA 1 (51), GOEA 67 (5105), MERL 1 (27), GYRF 1 (2) TOTAL 85 (7508)

October 30 [Day 63] It was a day almost devoid of cloud and similarly devoid of raptors for the first time this month. Winds were again westerly all day, light in the morning and moderate in the afternoon with gusts not exceeding 37 km/h, and the temperature high was 1.4C from a low of -4C. Only 8 raptors moved all day under what appeared to be ideal conditions so it is probable that conditions were not so favourable to the north. By comparison there was a large finch movement, especially in the morning, involving 6 Purple Finches, 102 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 24 Red Crossbills and 1,082 Common Redpolls which moved south in flocks of up to 130 birds. In the morning I watched a female Red Crossbill feeding a juvenile bird while perched atop a Douglas Fir suggesting that the juvenile was only recently fledged. A Mountain Bluebird at the site early in the morning was the latest there by 14 days, and the Northern Pygmy-Owl was also present in the morning. A Least Chipmunk approached within a few centimetres of my boot while foraging for food around midday: they seem to coexist with Yellow Pine Chipmunks at the site and it is not obvious what the ecological separation of the two species is. 11.25 hours (710.42) SSHA 2 (1217), NOGO 1 (127), GOEA 5 (5038) TOTAL 8 (7423)

October 29 [Day 62] The count today was mainly conducted by Denise, Karola, Keith and Raymond allowing me to take Barbara to Calgary for a medical appointment. I arrived back at the site in the late afternoon and helped for the last couple of hours… not that they needed much help as they had done an excellent job of identification and recording. Winds were westerly (or occasionally from the SW) all day generally 30-40 gusting up to 50 km/h, with variable 30-80% cirrus, cumulus and lenticular cloud cover, and a temperature high of 7.5C from a low of 4C. Raptor movement started at 0825 and was fairly steady all day. Golden Eagle numbers finally show signs of diminishing but the bird at 0935 brought the seasonal total to 5000 for the first time ever. Bald Eagles and Northern Goshawks continue to increase and the adult male Northern Harrier at 1022 was the latest ever at the site. As often happens, Rough-legged Hawks moved very early and very late in the day. The migrant passerines today were 94 Bohemian Waxwings, 200 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 5 Red Crossbills, 345 Common Redpolls and 99 Pine Siskins. 11.33 hours (699.17) BAEA 14 (337), NOGO 10 (126), RLHA 4 (50), GOEA 55 (5033), UE 4 (11), MERL 1 (26) TOTAL 89 (7415)

October 28 [Day 61] A pleasant day for late October with the temperature rising to 8C from a low of 2C, westerly winds generally between 35 and 50 km/h and an excellent observing sky of cirrus, cumulus and spectacularly sculpted lenticular cloud. Raptor movement was slow to start with the first Golden Eagle not moving until 0930, but the third eagle of the day at 0941 was the 7217th of the season equaling the total combined species count for last year. Movement peaked at 23 birds between 1200 and 1300 and movement remained steady and leisurely allowing plenty of time to enjoy the birds until the last Bald Eagle moved south at the early hour of 1758. A single American Robin was the first for 7 days and another 161 Bohemian Waxwings went south, but again finches dominated the passerine movement with 3 Purple Finches, 180 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 14 Red Crossbills, 317 Common Redpolls and 97 Pine Siskins passing by. Cougar tracks in a remnant snow patch at the site were the first evidence of the species here this season. 11.33 hours (687.84) BAEA 15 (323), SSHA 5 (1215), NOGO 8 (116), GOEA 84 (4978) TOTAL 112 (7326)

October 27 [Day 60] The temperature at 0800 was -2.5C under cloudless skies which remained clear until just after noon when cirrus cloud moved from the west and soon after thick altostratus cloud formed a Chinook Arch which in turn moved off to the east after 1700. Westerly winds which were moderate until noon became strong in the afternoon gusting to 80 km/h until 1600 when they moderated to 35-55 km/h, and the temperature peaked at 5C. Raptors continue to stream south with movement beginning at 0853 and ceasing at the relatively early time of 1808 when we were still 3 birds short of equaling the 2006 final combined species count of 7217. The Golden Eagle seen at 1221 brought the season’s total to 4753 which equaled the previous highest ever Golden Eagle count at Mount Lorette in 2000. South Livingstone now holds the world record at 4894 with about 5 more weeks of counting to come! The 33 Bald Eagles is the highest daily count so far this season and at 1624 the first Gyrfalcon of the season flew by, a juvenile grey morph, which was the 98th bird species recorded this fall. Passerine movement was also good and included the first Northern Shrike (species #96) and Rusty Blackbird (a male) (#97) of the season. For both birds it was the first time they had been recorded at the ridge top, both having been seen lower down last year. Another 205 Bohemian Waxwings flew south and finch movement involved 6 species: 6 Purple Finches, 45 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 3 Pine Grosbeaks, 2 Red Crossbills, 223 Common Redpolls and 8 Evening Grosbeaks. And the Northern Pygmy-Owl also made a guest appearance: not a bad day! 11.5 hours (675.51) BAEA 33 (308), SSHA 5 (1210), NOGO 3 (108), RLHA 8 (46), GOEA 182 (4894), MERL 1 (25), GYRF 1 (1) TOTAL 233 (7214)

October 26 [Day 59] A cloudless sky allowed the temperature to fall to -6C at 0800 and the sky remained cloudless all day, but despite the sunshine the temperature high was only 1C. Winds were moderate westerly all day, mainly from 10 to 20 km/h. The first Golden Eagle moved south along the ridge at 0802, followed in the next 6 minutes by 4 more, but subsequently the pace became more sedate until 1300-1400 when 32 raptors moved south. Another 31 birds moved late in the day between 1740 and 1835 when the last Golden Eagle was seen, 10 hours and 33 minutes after the first. The Golden Eagle count has now surpassed that of 1993 at Mount Lorette (4599) which was until today the second highest RMERF count ever. Passerine movement was again strong, especially in the morning, including the second Brown Creeper for the season, 480 Bohemian Waxwings, 1 Dark-eyed [hyemalis] Junco, 86 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches and 181 Common Redpolls. There was a large influx of Common Ravens flying to the west in the late afternoon pushing the daily count to a season high 139: at 1727 a juvenile Bald Eagle glided right through the middle of a cloud of 30 ravens soaring high over a Livingstone peak. The total bird count for the day was 1058, the highest so far this season. 11.5 hours (665.01) BAEA 6 (275), SSHA 3 (1205), NOGO 4 (105), RLHA 5 (38), GOEA 115 (4712) TOTAL 133 (6981)

October 25 [Day 58] A cold front passing south overnight deposited 3 cm of fresh snow on the ridge and produced a temperature of -4C at 0800 which briefly reached 0.5C at 1500 before gradually falling back to -3C at 1900. Winds were again westerly all day but generally between 20 and 30 km/h which after yesterday felt like a breeze. Cloud cover was 10-50% cumulus generally providing an excellent viewing background. Raptor movement started slowly with only 31 birds passing before 1525 after which there was a dramatic influx of Golden Eagles with 143 mainly adult birds moving before the last was seen at 1830. Most of the birds soared high to the north for several minutes before gliding south and soaring kettles of 7 or 8 birds were common. The Sharp-shinned Hawk total has now exceeded 1200 for the second consecutive year and the Northern Goshawk at 1426 was the 100th of the season. Passerine movement was strong in the morning, with most birds moving before 0900 and included 120 Bohemian Waxwings, 1 Dark-eyed [cismontanus] Junco, 2 Snow Buntings, 1 Purple Finch, 95 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 5 Red Crossbills, 134 Common Redpolls and 10 Pine Siskins. The fresh snow revealed the track of a Raccoon on the trail to the site which is a new mammal for the study area. 11.5 hours (653.51) BAEA 14 (269), SSHA 5 (1202), NOGO 5 (101), GOEA 163 (4597) TOTAL 187 (6848)

October 24 [Day 57] The temperature at 0800 was 9C and rose to a high of 13C at 1400. Winds were from the west all day gusting 50-60 km/h in the morning but became very strong in the afternoon. As I was measuring the wind at 1700 a gust of around 120 km/h knocked me over and I found myself sprawled and rather bruised on a pile of rocks. Cloud cover in the morning was a useful 30-60% cover of altostratus, cumulus and cirrus which diminished to 10-20% in the early afternoon making observation difficult, before clouding over again from the west in the late afternoon. Raptor movement didn’t start until 0925 but then increased steadily with 15 birds passing between 1000 and 1100. Movement was steady until 1300 then rapidly decreased as the winds increased in velocity with the last Golden Eagle moving high to the south at 1655. The Golden Eagle counted at 1057 was the 4400th of the season equaling last fall’s final count for the species. In the morning before the winds picked up there was a varied passerine movement including 132 Bohemian Waxwings, 5 Purple Finches, 1 Cassin’s Finch, 12 Common Redpolls and 7 Pine Siskins, and a Northern Pygmy-Owl perched briefly at the site. At 1450 a Long-tailed Weasel in its white winter pelage hunted just north of the site, conspicuous against the now snow-free ridge. 11 hours (642.01) BAEA 1 (255), SSHA 2 (1197), COHA 1 (190), NOGO 2 (96), GOEA 53 (4434) TOTAL 59 (6661)

October 23 [Day 56] A beautiful fall day with the temperature rising to 11C from a low of 5.5C and a spectacular sky of altostratus, cumulus and cirrus cloud making observation a pleasure. Winds were westerly all day gradually increasing in velocity from 30-40km/h in the morning to 50-60 km/h by late afternoon. The first migrant was a Golden Eagle at 0814, then between 0830 and 0859 31 migrants moved relatively low along the western edge of the ridge: 26 Golden Eagles, 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 2 Northern Goshawks. By noon I had counted 96 migrants and was beginning to have visions of a substantial count, but the flow of Golden Eagles increasingly slowed as the afternoon progressed, although a small late movement of Bald Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks and a spectacular sunset graced the last couple of hours of the count. A Red-breasted Nuthatch was the first for a week, but again finches dominated passerine movement: 1 Purple Finch, 25 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 45 Common Redpolls and 91 Pine Siskins, the first substantial movement of this latter species since September 27. 11.58 hours (631.01) BAEA 7 (254), NOHA 1 (54), SSHA 9 (1195), COHA 1 (189), NOGO 5 (94), RLHA 7 (33), GOEA 130 (4381) TOTAL 160 (6602)

October 22 [Day 55] The temperature rose from 0C at 0800 to a high of 4.5C late in the afternoon and the winds were westerly all day generally gusting between 45 and 60 km/h: mercifully we were spared the forecasted 110 km/h gusts. Cloud was a constant mix all day of 80-100% stratocumulus, cumulus and altostratus with snow squalls to the north and west all day. In the afternoon the peaks of the Livingstone Range were in cloud most of the time and conditions for migration appeared to be poor. Raptor movement, however, started at 0828 and birds moved steadily all day along a narrow consistent track between the snow squalls to the west and the occluded mountains to the east, and when the last bird moved south at 1812 120 migrants had passed , 113 of which were Golden Eagles. The only other raptors were 5 Bald Eagles, an adult dark morph Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk and an adult male columbarius Merlin. Because of the high winds passerine movement was muted with the exception of a single flock of about 120 Bohemian Waxwings that perched near the site before flying south: the biggest flock seen so far this season. 11.66 hours (619.43) BAEA 5 (247), RTHA 1 (183), GOEA 113 (4251), MERL 1 (24) TOTAL 120 (6442)

October 21 [Day 54] Again the temperature rose to a high of 0C from a low of -3C, but only fell to -1C at 1900 so it may be warming up! Winds were moderate WNW early but after 1140 became strong gusting over 70 km/h between 1600 and 1700 giving problems with blowing snow for the first time this season. Cloud cover was only 20% cumulus until 1000 when it began to cloud over and the afternoon saw generally dark 90-100% altostratus and cumulus cloud. Raptor movement didn’t start until 0911 with the passage of the first Golden Eagle, but increased quickly with the highest hourly count (22) being 1000-1100. Subsequent movement was fairly steady until the last Golden Eagle moved at 1820. All but 6 birds seen were eagles, a typical situation of high wind conditions, and many of the eagles were buffeted by the wind as they glided high to the south. The only Red-tailed Hawk was an adult light morph calurus. Passerine movement was again dominated by Grey-crowned Rosy Finch (140) and Common Redpoll (143) and a single Snow Bunting also passed high overhead to the south. 11.75 hours (607.77) BAEA 15 (242), SSHA 2 (1186), COHA 1 (188), NOGO 1 (84), RTHA 1 (182), GOEA 121 (4138), PRFA 1 (14) TOTAL 142 (6322)

October 20 [Day 53] This was the first day when the temperature failed to get above freezing, starting and finishing at -3C and reaching 0C in the early afternoon. Winds were WNW to W all day generally gusting between 30 and 40 km/h and the cloud cover ranged from 60% to 90% cumulus, altostratus and cirrus giving excellent observation conditions all day. Golden Eagle movement started at 0817 and 12 birds had moved south before 0900. Movement was steady all day and the last Golden Eagle passed at 1840. At 1719 we counted the 4000th Golden Eagle of the season; last year the 4000th bird didn’t appear until November 4th. We have now counted 3264 Golden Eagles so far in October compared to 3179 for the entire month last year. Similarly, the combined species October total to date of 4278 has also exceeded last year’s total month count of 4267 (and there are still 11 days left in this month!). The total of 10 Northern Goshawks is the highest daily count so far, the 4 Rough-legged Hawks were the first for 5 days and the adult Peregrine Falcon at 1744 brought the season’s total to 35. The highlight of the day, however, was another sort of raptor: a Northern Hawk Owl that perched in exactly the same tree as last year’s bird seen on October 12. Passerine movement was varied and included 4 American Robins, 3 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 Lapland Longspur, 243 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches and 40 Common Redpolls. Common Ravens, that were conspicuously absent in the morning, moved strongly into the mountains from the SE throughout the afternoon and we ended up with a season high daily count of 106 birds. 11.83 hours (596.02) BAEA 12 (227), SSHA 7 (1184), NOGO 10 (88), RLHA 4 (26), GOEA 114 (4017), PEFA 1 (35) TOTAL 148 (6180)

October 19 [Day 52] A rather unpleasant (and un-forecasted!) day with winds from the WNW and NW gusting 30 to 45 km/h, 100% stratocumulus cloud cover for most of the day and temperatures ranging from 0C briefly to 3C in the early afternoon when it briefly stopped snowing. The Livingstone Range to the north cleared for a couple of hours after noon and allowed passage of 21 raptors before cloud re-enveloped the peaks, and heavy snow at 1530 caused us to abandon the ridge. I continued watching from the base of the ridge and saw a further 9 birds moving south between 1628 and 1707 before heavy rain and sleet at 1745 finally brought a trying day to an end. As might be imagined passerine movement was limited but a single flock of 20 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches passed close by me just after 0900 in heavy snow when visibility was only around 10 m. 10.5 hours (584.19) SSHA 5 (1177), NOGO 2 (78), GOEA 23 (3903) TOTAL 30 (6032)

October 18 [Day 51] The temperature at 0800 was -3C and with the westerly wind gusting to almost 40 km/h it felt rather cool. Morning cloud cover ranged from 5% to 40% cumulus providing excellent observing conditions. In the afternoon cloud cover increased to 100% and the temperature rose briefly to 2C before falling to -2C as snow swept from the west at 1740 obscuring the mountains and ending movement for the day. Migration started early with the first Golden Eagle passing south at 0759, but serious migration only started after 1000 and was then steady until 1733 when snow stopped play. Peak movement was 1600 to 1733 when 73 birds moved rapidly to the south, many flapping vigorously to stay ahead of the weather. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the Osprey that passed at 1326, 8 days later than the last Osprey which was itself the latest ever seen on an RMERF count. A single adult dark morph calurus Red-tailed Hawk was the first Buteo in 3 days, and the 34th Peregrine of the season was seen at 1207. The Golden Eagle moving at 1725 was the 6000th raptor of the season: last year we didn’t reach this plateau until October 28 and we are currently 1278 birds ahead of last year on this date. Late yesterday afternoon we saw a Clark’s Nutcracker perched with an unshelled peanut in its bill and this morning at 0925 it was back with another peanut. The provenance of the peanuts is almost certainly Dale Patton’s feeder to the east of the ridge in Frank, and the bird is probably caching them for the coming winter. 11.75 hours (573.69) OSPR 1 (17), BAEA 12 (215), SSHA 15 (1172), COHA 1 (187), NOGO 5 (76), UA 1 (56), RTHA 1 (181), GOEA 228 (3880), MERL 1 (23), PEFA 1 (34) TOTAL 266 (6002)

October 17 [Day 50] It was a cool (0C to 4C) windy (W gusting 35 to 55 km/h) day but with a magnificent sky of altostratus, cirrus and cumulus cloud for most of the day that made both detection and identification of high-flying raptors relatively easy. Raptors of only 5 species moved from 0827 to 1841 but compared to the last six days the flow was sporadic and usually involved single birds suggesting that the main movement of the season is now running out of steam. Peak movement was 31 birds between 1300 and1400 but no other hour produced more than 19 migrants. Passerine movement was also thin but included 2 Purple Finches, 60 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches and the first Snow Buntings of the season (bird species #94): a flock of 8 flying past the site at 1004. 12 hours (561.94) BAEA 12 (203), SSHA 19 (1157), COHA 2 (186), NOGO 8 (71), GOEA 131 (3652) TOTAL 172 (5736)

October 16 [Day 49] After two days with little or no cloud today we had 100% to 80% altostratus and cumulus cover with the sun only breaking through after 1600. To compound the gloom there was a couple of hours of smoke haze in the late morning. Winds were mainly westerly 20-30km/h in the morning but gusted to 54 km/h by mid afternoon, and the temperature rose to 8C from a start of 6C, falling to 4C by 1900. The first migrant Golden Eagle was not seen until 0921 but thereafter we had a steady stream of birds until 1855 when the last Golden Eagle moved high to the south in the gathering dusk. Sharp-shinned Hawks continue to move strongly but otherwise the day was dominated by Golden Eagles again (210): the last 6 days have produced 1845 migrants. The combined species total of 5564 is 1002 higher than on this date this year: either we are going to have a record count this fall or November is going to be very thin! Migrating finches dominated passerine movement and comprised 188 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 14 Purple Finches, 5 Pine Grosbeaks and 6 Common Redpolls, while a male Pileated Woodpecker and a Steller’s Jay added colour to the ridge in the morning. 12 hours (549.94) BAEA 7 (191), NOHA 1 (53), SSHA 36 (1138), COHA 2 (184), NOGO 2 (63), GOEA 210 (3521), MERL 2 (22) TOTAL 260 (5564)

October 15 [Day 48] Winds were similar to those of yesterday, but there was a little more cloud cover with 20% lenticular cloud up to 1000 and10-30% cirrus after 1400. The temperature ranged from 5C up to a very welcome 11.5C under bright sunshine. Raptor movement was again strong and continuous between 0827 and 1833 with maximum movement of 72 birds between 1600 and 1700. Milestones reached today were the 3000th Golden Eagle at 1153, the 5000th migrant raptor at 1315 and the 1100th Sharp-shinned Hawk at 1707. In 2006 Golden Eagles reached 3000 on October 24 and raptors reached 5000 on October 22, and currently we have counted 1022 more Golden Eagles and 742 migrant raptors than on this date last year. The last 5 days alone have yielded 1585 Golden Eagles. The 5 Cooper’s Hawks were the highest daily total since September 26, one of the two Red-tailed Hawks was an adult dark morph Harlan’s and the 33rd Peregrine of the season came through at 1311. Passerine movement was muted but included 2 Cassin’s Finches, 50 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches and 7 Common Redpolls. 12 hours (537.94) BAEA 14 (184), SSHA 36 (1102), COHA 5 (182), NOGO 4 (61), RTHA 2 (180), GOEA 361 (3311), UE 1 (7), PEFA 1 (33) TOTAL 424 (5304)

October 14 [Day 47] Winds were WNW to W all day generally 25-30km/h and occasionally gusting to 40 km/h, and the temperature rose to 11C from a low of 3C. Cloud was essentially absent with only traces of cirrus which occasionally covered up to 2% of the sky. Fortunately there were 23 visitors to the site and the many eyes on the blank sky were a great help in finding raptors. Not that there were many to find in the morning with only 8 birds moving south, but after 1230 migration suddenly started in earnest and movement was steady until 1800 after which only 6 birds were seen. Peak movement was 1500-1600 with 77 birds migrating. Golden Eagles (224) comprised 84% of the 268 birds seen and Sharp-shinned Hawks (19) were relatively scarce after 5 days of strong movement. Of the 5 Red-tailed Hawks two were juvenile “Harlan’s”: one dark and one intermediate morph. Passerine movement was as sluggish as the morning raptor movement but included our 5th Palm Warbler of the season (much to the delight of Doug and Teresa who had managed to avoid the previous four) and late in the day our 3rd Steller’s Jay. 11.67 hours (525.94) BAEA 6 (170), NOHA 2 (52), SSHA 19 (1066), COHA 1 (177), NOGO 4 (57), RTHA 4 (178), RLHA 3 (22), GOEA 224 (2950), UE 2 (6), UU 2 (7) TOTAL 268 (4880)

October 13 [Day 46] It was a gloomy morning with up to 90% altostratus cloud that quickly broke up after 1300 giving sunny conditions and cloudless skies from 1500 to 1730 before the development of 20% cirrus cloud gave some relief to our eyes. Winds were WNW initially then westerly gradually increasing from 10-20 km/h in the morning to 40-50 in the afternoon, and the temperature ranged from 2C to 7C. Raptor movement started early with a Rough-legged Hawk going through at 0758, but movement only really got into gear after 1100 and then rarely slowed until the last Golden Eagle was seen at 1859, by which time 474 raptors had passed south. Peak movement was 1200-1300 with the passage of 102 birds, but a late movement mainly involving Golden Eagles produced 86 migrants between 1800 and 1900. In the afternoon many of the birds soared close overhead in bright sunshine much to the delight of the 10 observers at the site, and the many visual highlights included an adult male Northern Harrier and our 32nd Peregrine of the season. Passerine highlights included a late Palm Warbler, our first White-winged Crossbills of the season (3), 7 Lapland Longspurs and 69 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches. 12.17 hours (514.27) BAEA 20 (164), NOHA 1 (50), SSHA 78 (1047), COHA 2 (176), NOGO 5 (53), RTHA 3 (173), GOEA 362 (2726), MERL 1 (20), PEFA 1 (32) TOTAL 474 (4612)

October 12 [Day 45] Today’s weather was the antithesis of yesterday’s: winds were light easterly all day (< 8 km/h) or calm, and 100% altostratus cloud for most of the day made observation challenging and many raptors went un-aged, especially late in the day. Temperatures ranged from 1C to 7C. Unlike yesterday raptors moved slowly, often after soaring for several minutes, and much of the movement was east of the ridge. Despite this, the combined species total for the day was 355, the second highest of the season, and there was strong movement of Bald Eagles (28), Sharp-shinned Hawks (102) and Golden Eagles (201). There was also a good movement of Rough-legged Hawks late in the day with 13 birds being the highest total so far this season. At 1730 all movement suddenly stopped and subsequently only 3 Bald Eagles came through together at 1836. Songbird movement was varied and included the first Brown Creeper of the season (and the first to be seen at the site) and the first Horned Larks, a flock of 25 flying along the ridge. Yesterday I was surprised by the occurrence of a Cassin’s Finch: today 22 flew over the site in a single flock! Other finch movement comprised 11 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, 5 Pine Grosbeaks, 14 Red Crossbills, 66 Common Redpolls and a Pine Siskin. Other migrants included 61 American Robins and occasional kinglets, juncos and nuthatches and our latest ever Yellow-rumped Warblers (2). The Northern Pygmy-Owl which was again present at the site presumably found plenty to feed on. 12 hours (502.1) BAEA 28 (144), NOHA 1 (49), SSHA 102 (969), COHA 4 (174), NOGO 2 (48), RTHA 2 (170), RLHA 13 (18), GOEA 201 (2364) MERL 2 (18) TOTAL 355 (4137)

October 11 [Day 44] North-west to WNW winds gusting to 60 km/h in the morning gave way to westerly winds gusting to 45 km/h in the afternoon giving ideal migration conditions, and a sky of altostratus, cumulus and lenticular cloud and bright sunshine for much of the day provided ideal viewing conditions. Raptors started moving at 0826 and didn’t stop until the last Bald Eagle went south at 1902, and the combined species total of 518 is the highest so far this season. A year ago on this date we counted 514 birds which proved to be the highest count of the season. Bald Eagle (30), Northern Goshawk (8) and Golden Eagle (437) were all season-high counts with the highest hourly count for the latter species (58) being between 1800 and 1900: the birds just kept coming! For the first time this season there was some concerted finch movement including 29 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches and 53 Common Redpolls, and more surprisingly our 3rd female Purple Finch of the season (seen by Teresa) and a very late male Cassin’s Finch. Even more surprising and spectacular in the late afternoon sunshine was a flock of 18 Snow Geese flying high to the south above the mountains at 1736. 12.25 hours (490.1) BAEA 30 (116), NOHA 1 (48), SSHA 36 (867), COHA 2 (170), NOGO 8 (46), RTHA 1 (168), GOEA 437 (2163), PRFA 1 (13), UU 2 (5) TOTAL 518 (3782)

October 10 [Day 43] It was 8.5C on the ridge at 0800 and reached 14.5C at 1300 before falling back to 8C at 1900. Westerly winds were below 16 km/h until 1700 when they increased reaching 36 km/h by 1900. Most of the day was gloomy with 90-100% altostratus cloud, only breaking for 1.5 hours from 1300 to 1430 when we saw some welcome sunshine. Raptor movement was very slow at first with only 9 birds moving before 1300, but it subsequently picked up and peaked between 1600 and 1700 with the passage of 35 birds; Golden Eagles were still flying high to the south as late as 1840. An Osprey at 1546 was our latest ever and an adult Peregrine Falcon was the 31st of the season. Non-raptor highlights included the second migrating American Three-toed Woodpecker for the season and 6 Lapland Longspurs including a flock of 5 feeding north of the site seen by Dawn and Denise. 12.17 hours (477.85) OSPR 1 (16), BAEA 1 (86), SSHA 20 (831), RLHA 1 (5), GOEA 94 (1726), MERL 2 (16), PEFA 1 (31), PRFA 1 (12) TOTAL 121 (3264)

October 9 [Day 42] This was the most pleasant day for weeks with the temperature rising to 6.5C from a low of 1.5C under sunny skies that were cloudless after 1400. Winds were upslope all day varying from E to NE, generally 5-15 km/h and even, on occasion, calm. Because of the light winds the only birds to move in the morning were 48 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 4 Merlins, and the first Golden Eagle was not seen until 1233. The highlight of the morning was an adult male columbarius Merlin flying flat-out pursuing a Downy Woodpecker that had just taken off from the site, which avoided being taken by suddenly dropping vertically just as the Merlin caught up with it. All the birds flying in the morning moved very close to the site and had us ducking on occasion. The combined species total for the day was 316 (11 species) and was the highest so far this season. The 160 Sharp-shinned Hawks was the highest single day count ever for an RMERF count, and the 15 Bald Eagles was the highest daily total for the season. The Osprey was the latest ever seen on an RMERF count, the previous latest being on October 3 at Plateau Mountain (1997) and at Mount Lorette (2000). One of the 9 Red-tailed Hawks was an adult intermediate morph Harlan’s Hawk, and a single juvenile Peregrine Falcon brought the season’s total to 30. We shared the site with a Northern Pygmy-Owl for much of the day, and passerine movement was again dominated by American Robins (98) and the first significant movement of Bohemian Waxwings (30). Many other small passerines passed by in the crops of Sharp-shinned Hawks! 12.8 hours (465.68) OSPR 1 (15), BAEA 15 (85), NOHA 1 (47), SSHA 160 (811), COHA 1 (168), NOGO 5 (38), RTHA 9 (167), RLHA 1 (4), GOEA 118 (1632), UE 1 (4), MERL 4 (14), PEFA 1 (30) TOTAL 316 (3143)

October 8 [Day 41] Ridge winds were light all day variably from the W, SW, E, NE and ESE, often diametrically opposed to the upper winds. The clashing winds generated showers all day variably of rain, snow and hail. The temperature rose to 4C on SW winds and fell to1.5C when the wind switched to the east. The Livingstone Range to the north was only rarely free of cloud all day, and on occasion the observation site was in cloud for up to 30 minutes at a time. Most raptor movement was confined to brief clear periods between 1130 and 1147, and 1510 and 1552, with single birds sporadically moving through the rest of the day. By contrast passerine movement was quite strong, at least before 1000, including 195 American Robins, 5 Townsend’s Solitaires, 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 9 Dark-eyed Juncos, 3 American Tree Sparrows, the first ever Lapland Longspur at the site and 3 Palm Warblers in a small flock (the 3rd record for the site, a first October record and the 90th bird species recorded this season). 11 hours (453.6) BAEA 1 (70), SSHA 7 (651), GOEA 14 (1514), MERL 1 (10) TOTAL 23 (2826)

October 7 [Day 40] (Bill Wilson) Winds were WNW to W all day gusting to over 80 km/h in early afternoon but dropping to 50-60 km/h by late afternoon. The temperature ranged from 0.5C to 3.5C and altocumulus/cumulus cloud cover increased from 30% in early morning to 90% by the end of the day. As yesterday the Livingstone Range to the north was shrouded in cloud all day, but when I drove down from Cochrane in the late afternoon the Front Ranges were clear the whole way except for the 4 km north of the observation site! As yesterday the cloud did not appear to deter movement with the first Golden Eagle appearing at 0753 and steady movement to 1300, after which the rate increased peaking at 54 birds between 1400 and 1500. The last Golden Eagle of the day at 1837 was the 257th and was the 278th migrant. Two large falcons that came through late in the gathering gloom might have been Peregrines. For the first few hours there appeared to be two layers of cloud above the site and eagles seemed to flying between them: it is possible that some birds were (gasp!) missed. Again passerine movement was almost non-existent but included 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, the latest recorded at the site. 12.5 hours (442.6) BAEA 6 (69), SSHA 6 (644), COHA 2 (167), NOGO 1 (33), UA 1 (55), GOEA 257 (1500), UE 2 (3), UF 2 (2), UU 1 (3) TOTAL 278 (2803)

October 6 [Day 39] (Bill Wilson) Twenty centimetres of fresh snow made the ascent to the ridge challenging, but there was no further precipitation during the day. Winds were NW to 1100 and westerly for the rest of the day, generally 30-40 km/h gusting 50-60 km/h with the temperature rising to 2C from a low of -2C. The ridge to the north was partially draped in cloud for the whole morning but it did not appear to impede raptor movement with the first Golden Eagle at 0801 and 49 migrant raptors before 1200. After noon, however, things really got underway with the next two hours seeing movement of 42 and 41 raptors respectively and when the last Golden Eagle went through at 1851 the combined species total of 289 was the highest so far this season and included a season-high count of 263 Golden Eagles. Non-raptor migrants were very scarce but included a single flock of 10 Common Redpolls. 12 hours (430.1) BAEA 4 (63), SSHA 13 (638), COHA 3 (165), NOGO 2 (32), UA 2 (54), GOEA 263 (1243), UE 1 (1), PEFA 1 (29) TOTAL 289 (2525)

October 5 [NO OBSERVATION] Heavy snow all day gave us the opportunity to unpack and get the new house at least partly livable. Barbara and I will be attending a friend’s wedding at the weekend and Bill Wilson will be the principal observer for the next two days.

October 4 [Day 38] It was a spectacular start to the day with a vivid red sunrise reflected on the fresh snow cover of the Continental Divide to the west. Winds were light from the WNW then W until 1500 when they changed to easterly and quickly reduced the temperature to -1C from a high of 2C. Thin altostratus cloud gave way at 0900 to widely scattered cumulus and it appeared that lack of cloud was going to make observation difficult. After 1000, however, it rapidly clouded over from the west and from 1100-1145 it snowed steadily. It cleared in the early afternoon and allowed good raptor movement until 1530 when the wind shift brought increasing flurries and finally after 1800 steady wet snow accompanied by thunder. Conditions appeared to be good for early raptor movement but only a few Sharp-shinned Hawks came through before the late morning snow. As soon at the snow ceased birds began to flow, with 66 moving between 1200 and 1300 and 36 and 21 in the next two hours. Movement was largely east of the ridge with much soaring flight, although a number of eagles moved close to the western edge of the ridge giving splendid close-up views. For the first time the Golden Eagle flight was dominated by adult birds (82%). No raptors moved after 1530. Common Ravens reversed yesterday evening’s flight with 47 moving in two flocks to the south before 0730. There was early movement of 43 Canada Geese to the west, and at 1053 a line of 32 Canada Geese moving to the south east of the ridge trailed a lone Snow Goose, the first to be seen from the site. Passerine movement was again strong and included 31 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 25 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 8 Townsend’s Solitaires, 84 American Robins, 2 European Starlings (just the second record for the site), 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler (the first for 6 days), 39 Dark-eyed Juncos (mainly “Slate-coloured” morphs), a second female Purple Finch for the site and 2 Common Redpolls, although compared to last year finches continue to be generally scarce. 11.5 hours (418.1) BAEA 4 (59), SSHA 25 (625), COHA 3 (162), RTHA 1 (158), RLHA 1 (3), UB 2 (2), GOEA 96 (980) TOTAL 132 (2236)

October 3 [Day 37] At 0600 the peaks and ridge appeared almost clear, but when I arrived at the site everything was obscured, it was snowing lightly with 4cm fresh on the ground and the temperature was -1C with a NW wind gusting 30 km/h. As it showed no sign of clearing I came down at 0950, but re-ascended at 1230 when the cloud appeared to be lifting. The signs were misleading, however, as the cloud remained firmly on the peaks and the ridge was regularly swept by snow pellet and snow showers driven by 30 km/h NW to WNW winds. As compensation the temperature did climb to zero. Finally, after 1600 the clouds suddenly lifted producing sunny skies for about 1.5 hours before heavy snow returned obscuring everything for the rest of the day. Not surprisingly raptor movement was non-existent for much of the day, with the first Golden Eagle not moving until 1458 when the peaks to the north were still in cloud, and a second Golden Eagle and a Merlin came through about an hour later. When the clouds finally lifted at 1600 raptors started migrating immediately and 33 birds moved before 1700 and a further 9 before 1728 when snow squalls re-developed to the north. The movement involved 8 species including the 28th Peregrine Falcon (a juvenile) of the season and 2 adult Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawks. Despite the conditions in the morning there was a surprisingly good movement of songbirds including 42 American Robins, 40 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and 20 juncos as well as a male Downy Woodpecker. There was also a second wave of movement late in the afternoon coincident with the clearing that included another 46 robins, 32 juncos, 5 Bohemian Waxwings and 7 Pine Grosbeaks. The numbers of Common Ravens moving to the NW to roost late in the afternoon has been gradually increasing over the last couple of weeks and today rose to over 40 birds. 9.25 hours (406.6) BAEA 6 (55), SSHA 14 (600), COHA 3 (159), NOGO 1 (30), RTHA 3 (157), GOEA 18 (884), MERL 1 (9), PEFA 1 (28) TOTAL 47 (2104)

October 2 [Day 36] Again winds were strong westerly gusting up to 90 km/h around noon but easing to a pleasant 50-75 km/h in the afternoon. The temperature ranged from 2C to 4C, and a broken cumulus/altostratus cloud cover made viewing easy until snow and sleet moved from the west at 1500, and soon after all the ridges were obscured, with steady rain for the rest of the day. It was oddly quiet on the ridge early (apart from the wind!) and I didn’t see a bird of any kind until 0830. Soon after 0900, however, raptor movement started with 14 birds moving before 1000 and 39 before 1300, but only 4 more before the weather finally closed in for the day. It was interesting that during the period of the highest winds (1100-1300) all but one of the 12 Golden Eagles seen were adults whereas for the rest of the movement subadult and juvenile birds predominated. As might be expected on such a windy day passerine movement was muted, but 61 American Robins and a couple of Mountain Bluebirds moved past the site, generally at high speeds! The change in the weather was fortuitous in that I could get to our new house to help in the unpacking of our effects that arrived today. Thanks to the wonderful help of family and friends in the Calgary/Cochrane area and of Karalee and Dawn today in Beaver Mines the move went without a hitch. 7.5 hours (397.35) BAEA 1 (49), SSHA 7 (586), COHA 2 (156), NOGO 1 (29), GOEA 33 (866) TOTAL 44 (2057)

October 1 [Day 35] Winds were strong westerly all day gusting to 60 km/h and rarely dropping below 40 km/h. Up to 1100 the Livingstone Range to the north was substantially draped with cloud although it did not seem to stop the raptor movement, with 29 birds moving before it cleared. Cloud cover gradually cleared throughout the day from 100% to 20%, and the temperature ranged from 2C to 5.5C and back to 2C at 1900. Raptor movement peaked between 1300 and 1400 at 20 birds and diminished throughout the afternoon, but was almost continuous from the first Golden Eagle at 0759 to the last Bald Eagle at 1847. A late movement of Bald Eagles produced a season high count of 7 birds, and the only falcon of the day was a non-migratory Prairie. A female Purple Finch at 1047 was a new species for the site and the 86th of the season, but passerine movement was sparse. A high intensity alarm call of a Clark’s Nutcracker at 1603 had me walking north along the ridge to look for an owl, only to find that the object of its rancour was a perched Red-shafted Flicker which it subsequently pursued to the north with great enthusiasm and a good deal of noise. 12.33 hours (389.85) BAEA 7 (48), SSHA 19 (579), NOGO 2 (28), RTHA 2 (154), RLHA 1 (2), GOEA 80 (833) TOTAL 111 (2013)