December 9 [Day 100] The last day of the count saw strong NW winds all day gusting to 80 km/h in the afternoon, temperatures that ranged from -7C to -6C and 100% altostratus cloud that gave way to 70-80% lenticular/altostratus cover after 1500. The first adult Bald Eagle moved along the ridge at 1038 followed by 2 more at 1437 and 1447. The final bird of the count was another adult Bald Eagle gliding high to the south above the ridge at 1605: the 700th Bald Eagle and the 8289th migrant raptor of a very successful season.
This was the first year that the count has extended into December at the site and 6 days (47 hours) yielded a total of 78 migrant raptors: 69 Bald Eagles, 2 Northern Goshawks, 4 Rough-legged Hawks and 3 Golden Eagles. Doubtless a few Bald Eagles will continue to move south over the next couple of weeks but I had to leave for Calgary with Barbara on Sunday evening so she can start her radiation treatment on Monday. Next spring we shall conduct a full count at the Piitaistakis-South Livingstone site for the first time, starting around the middle of February, the exact date dependant on weather conditions at the time. 8.08 hours (1048) BAEA 4 (700) TOTAL 4 (8289)

FINAL COUNT (August 25 to December 9) (percentage difference from fall 2006 in parenthesis)

DAYS 100 (+19%)
HOURS 1048 (+17.5%)

OSPREY (OSPR) 17 (+54.5%)
BALD EAGLE (BAEA) 700 (+45.2%)
NORTHERN HARRIER (NOHA) 56 (-26%)
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (SSHA) 1219 (-2.2%)
COOPER’S HAWK (COHA) 191 (-13%)
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (NOGO) 166 (+7.8%)
Unidentified Accipiter (UA) 57 (+26.7%)
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BWHA) 13 (+30%)
SWAINSON’S HAWK (SWHA) 1 (-50%)
RED-TAILED HAWK (RTHA) 188 (-34%)
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (FEHA) 4 (+300%)
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (RLHA) 83 (-41%)
Unidentified Buteo (UB) 2 (-67%)
GOLDEN EAGLE (GOEA) 5445 (+23.75%)
Unidentified eagle (UE) 12 (+100%)
AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) 37 (+12.1%)
MERLIN (MERL) 27 (-40%)
GYRFALCON (GYRF) 9 (+50%)
PEREGRINE FALCON (PEFA) 35 (+94.4%)
PRAIRIE FALCON (PRFA) 18 (+28.6%)
Unidentified Falco (UF) 2 (-33%)
Unidentified raptor (UU) 7 (-50%)

TOTAL 8289 (+14.85%)

Principal Observers: Peter Sherrington (89.5 days), Raymond Toal (6 days), Bill Wilson (3 days) Denise Coccioloni-Amatto (1 day) and Vance Mattson (0.5 days) with the skillful assistance of Keith McClary (45 days), Denise Coccioloni-Amatto (38 days), Raymond Toal (23 days), Karola Michalsky (10 days), Doug and Teresa Dolman (6 days), Dawn Hall (5 days), Alan Hingston (3 days), Elly and Arnie Weisbrot (3 days), Nel Van Kamer (3 days), Bill Wilson (3 days), Joel Duncan (2 days), Vance Mattson (2 days), Doug Pederson (1 day) and many of the other 300+ people who visited the site during the season.

Acknowledgements: To Enbridge, our principal sponsor and to members and supporters of the Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation for their continuing financial support, and to members of the Crowsnest Conservation Society for their support and many contributions to the success of the project. To Judy and Rick Cooke for again generously providing accommodation in their cabin at Lee Lake to mid-September and to Peter and Adele McKiernan for housing and feeding me in late September until we moved into our new house in Beaver Mines. To Merilyn Lidell for organizing our first Crowsnest Pass Eagle Festival on September 29 and to Doug Pederson who designed and produced the splendid car decal commemorating the fall 2007 count. To my wife, Barbara, who despite health challenges and a house move in the middle of the count continued to provide me with unstinting logistical support and encouragement.

December 8 [Day 99] The sky was cloudless all day with a temperature range of -19C to -6C and light SW to N winds at ground level with occasional blowing snow on the ridge in the afternoon indicating moderate west winds aloft. Only 4 adult Bald Eagles went south between 1311 and 1528 suggesting that we are now finally running out of migrants and tomorrow will be the last day of the fall 2007 count. A single Common Redpoll flying overhead was the first finch recorded in December which is surprising considering that we recorded a total of 11,188 finches of 9 species migrating along the ridge up to the end of November. 8.75 hours (1039.9) BAEA 4 (696) TOTAL 4 (8285)

December 7 [Day 98] Clear skies overnight allowed the temperature to fall to -17C, and cloud cover didn’t exceed 20% cumulus all day, with the temperature climbing to -7C under sunny skies. The ground wind was less than 8 km/h NE-S all day and was often calm, while the upper flow was a steady light southerly all day. The first migrant raptor was an adult Bald Eagle at 1216 which was followed by a steady procession of another 34 Bald Eagles all but one of which (a juvenile) was adult. Sixteen of the birds moved between 1300 and 1400 and another 9 from 1500 to 1600, and the last flapped to the south at 1631. The total of 35 birds was the second highest daily Bald Eagle count of the season and only 1 less than the highest count on November 05, and was the highest raptor count since November 11. It was also the highest December RMERF single day Bald Eagle and total raptor count ever. 9 hours (1031.2) BAEA 35 (692) TOTAL 35 (8281)

December 6 [NO OBSERVATION] The weather forecast called for clearing by late morning so at 0800 when the ridge was clear and only very light snow was falling the prospect for movement appeared good. As the morning progressed, however, the snow became heavier, cloud progressively obscured the ridge and I finally gave up at 1230. To be fair, this is only about the 100th time this season that the Environment Canada forecast has been wrong!

December 5 [Day 97] It was a strange day for temperatures starting at 3C, quickly dropping to -6C briefly at 0945 and equally quickly recovering to 3C where it remained until around 1430 when it again rapidly dropped, reaching -13C by 1640. Ground winds were generally W-SW and light until noon after which they gusted to 25 km/h, and upper winds were moderate westerly changing to NW after 1500. Cloud cover was 90-100% all day but the mountains stayed clear until after 1600 when they began to disappear in cloud as light snow developed. Probably owing to the snow reported farther north raptor movement was very slow and sporadic, but the resident Golden Eagle family was conspicuous in the morning hunting the ridges and an adult briefly displayed once. 8.67 hours (1022.2) BAEA 2 (657), NOGO 1 (166), RLHA 2 (83) TOTAL 5 (8246)

December 4 [Day 96] The temperature ranged from a very pleasant 6C at 0830 to 9C at noon and back to 6C at 1700 under moderate to strong westerly winds. With the exception of occasional cloud drape the mountains were clear all day and 70% to 90% cumulus cloud cover provided good viewing conditions. Raptor movement was steady between 0852 when the first Bald Eagle went south and the last migrant Golden Eagle at 1635. The combined species total of 28 and the Bald Eagle count of 22 were both new high single day December counts for a RMERF site, and four species of migrant raptor (and a non-migrant Prairie Falcon) represented good diversity for December. This is a migration that doesn’t seem to want to quit! 8.58 hours (1013.5) BAEA 22 (655), NOGO 1 (165), RLHA 2 (81), GOEA 3 (5445) TOTAL 28 (8241)

December 3 [NO OBSERVATION] About 35 cm of snow fell yesterday and today under strong west winds the temperature rose above freezing and rain fell most of the day: the mountains remained obscured.

December 2 [NO OBSERVATION] Heavy snow all day with all mountains obscured making observation impossible.

December 1 [Day 95] Snow and low cloud obscured the mountains until noon, when the Livingstone Ridge cleared enough to attempt a count starting at 1230 when the temperature was -17C with light westerly winds. Light snow continued all afternoon and the ridges were periodically draped with low cloud but 2 adult Bald Eagles made it through before I finally gave up at 1615 with the temperature at -19C. 3.75 hours (1004.9) BAEA 2 (633) TOTAL 2 (8213)

November 30 [Day 94] It was a cool start to the day with -22C at 0730 but the wind was less than 5 km/h all day and the temperature rose to -7C by 1400 under mainly cloudless skies: a sparkling late November day. It was as well it was pleasant as there was no sign of raptor movement all morning and I was beginning to think that it might be appropriate to finish the count today when at 1229 a Bald Eagle moved south along the ridge quickly followed by four others before the hour was out. The next two hours yielded 14 and 9 migrants respectively and when the last Golden Eagle went south at 1610 I had counted a total of 36 migrants of 4 species, the highest combined species count at the site since November 11. The Bald Eagle seen at 1231 was the 607th of the season equaling the second highest ever RMERF count for the species (Plateau Mountain, 1997) and the one at 1526 surpassed our previous highest ever count of 628 at Mount Lorette in 2000. An American Robin perched close by at 1430 was a pleasant surprise for the time of year. In contrast to last year’s November count when the weather only allowed 23 count days before I was driven from the field by a blizzard on the 29th, this year we counted every day during the month and only 3 days were significantly curtailed because of weather. The 30 days and 280 hours spent in the field are 30.4% and 32% higher than last November respectively, but despite this the 703 migrants counted is 25.3% lower than last year mainly because the total of 337 Golden Eagles is 48.5% lower than last year’s record November count of 654. By contrast the 282 Bald Eagles (+28.8%), 34 Northern Goshawks (+17.2%), 28 Rough-legged Hawks (+21.7%) and 7 Gyrfalcons (+75%) are all higher than last year, and Northern Harrier (1), Cooper’s Hawk (1) and Red-tailed Hawk (5) were recorded in November for the first time at the site this year. 9.25 hours (1001.2) BAEA 26 (631), NOGO 1 (164), RLHA 2 (79), GOEA 7 (5442) TOTAL 36 (8211)

November 29 [Day 93] At 0730 it was -11C, light N-W winds and overcast with light snow falling, but the ridges were visible and by 0840 there were small patches of blue sky. By 0915, however, everything closed in and I left at 1010, but returned to the site at 1400 just as the snow was ending and the clouds dispersing, with a temperature of -9C and a light W wind. After 1530 the clouds completely disappeared, as did the wind, allowing the temperature to fall to -15C by 1700. Two adult Bald Eagles flapped their way south along the ridge at 1438 and a single adult Bald Eagle flew low to the south at 1523 to complete the day’s raptor migration. At 1638 the resident juvenile Golden Eagle flapped low and slowly to the west to roost on Bluff Mountain. 5.75 hours (991.9) BAEA 3 (605) TOTAL 3 (8175)

November 28 [Day 92] The temperature ranged from -6C to -2C at 1300 and back to -6C at 1700, with a mainly northerly wind gusting to 20 km/h making it seem much cooler, and an upper flow from the NW-N all day. Cloud cover was 100-60% cumulus, altostratus and cirrus giving hazy sun conditions for much of the day. Early in the day it looked as if there was a prospect of good raptor movement as 2 Golden Eagles and a Bald Eagle went south before 0902, but there was a long gap until after 1500 when 5 Bald Eagles and a Golden Eagle moved along the ridge between 1506 and 1549, the 2 Bald Eagles at 1522 bringing the season’s total to 600. The last bird of the day, a Bald Eagle, went south at 1626. 9.67 hours (986.15) BAEA 7 (602), GOEA 4 (5435) TOTAL 11 (8172)

November 27 [Day 91] (Raymond Toal) The ridges were in cloud all day with 100% overcast skies, light NE winds and occasional periods of snow. No migrant raptors were seen. 5.75 hours (976.48) TOTAL 0 (8156)

November 26 [Day 90] (Raymond Toal) A cold front from the north that was forecast to pass south over the site tomorrow actually arrived early this morning with the temperature -5C at 0800 that gradually dropped during the day and reached -13C at 1700. The only time that the sky and ridges completely cleared was 1300 to 1500 when the temperature briefly regained -5C under sunny skies, but for the rest of the day the sky was overcast and the ridges were generally shrouded in cloud, with a light westerly wind all day that never exceeding 5-10 km/h. Two adult Bald Eagles that moved south along the ridge at 1223 and 1226, and 3 adult Golden Eagles that followed the same route between 1503 and 1603 were the only migrant raptors observed with the help of Denise and Karola. A flock of about 30 Canada Geese flying south at 0816 and 10 White-winged Crossbills were the only non-raptor migrants seen. 9 hours (970.73) BAEA 2 (595), GOEA 3 (5431) TOTAL 5 (8161)

November 25 [Day 89] The early morning was similar to yesterday with a temperature of -10C and W-NW winds gusting to 40 km/h but today was cloudless until 1000 which allowed me to periodically unfreeze my face by looking towards the sun for a few minutes. The wind continued W-WNW 20-45 km/h all day and mainly cumulus cloud developed after 1000 giving good observing conditions. By 1400 the temperature had reached -6C before falling back to -9C at 1700. Once again there was no early raptor movement with the first bird, an adult Northern Goshawk, not appearing until 1132, and subsequent movement was slow and sporadic despite the apparently ideal conditions: perhaps we are finally running out of birds! The last two Bald Eagles moved high to the south in fading light at 1624 and 1638. There was some early finch movement with 12 Red Crossbills, 19 White-winged Crossbills and 2 Common Redpolls flying south before 1000, and at 1715 I flushed 2 Ruffed Grouse on the descent for a first November sighting although I had seen tracks a couple of weeks ago. Raymond and Denise will be watching from the Valley View (Frank) site for the next couple of days so I can accompany Barbara to Calgary for some preliminary procedures before her radiation treatment starts in December. 9.92 hours (961.73) BAEA 6 (593), NOGO 1 (163), GOEA 1 (5428) TOTAL 8 (8156)

November 24 [Day 88] It was a chilly start to the day with the temperature -10C to -9C until 1100 with 20km/h N-WNW winds blowing straight into my face. At 1150 the wind shifted to westerly with maximum gusts of 90 km/h around 1400 and subsequently dropped to 60 km/h, raising the temperature to a high of -3.5C at 1500. A Chinook Arch of thick altostratus cloud made the cold morning even gloomier until it moved to the east at 1100 leaving a sky of thin altostratus, cirrus and lenticular cloud with mainly sunshine for the rest of the day. To add to the misery of the morning the first raptor, a Rough-legged Hawk, did not appear until 1146, and the second, an adult Golden Eagle was not seen until 1306. After that, however, movement was steady with the last of the 9 adult Golden Eagles seen moving south at 1641 and the last of 5 Bald Eagles following it 5 minutes later at 1646. The combined species count of 16 was not bad for late November. The finch count comprised 1 Grey-crowned Rosy Finch, 1 Pine Grosbeak, 3 White-winged Crossbills and 9 Common Redpolls but only the crossbills and a few of the redpolls appeared to be migrating. 10 hours (951.81) BAEA 5 (587), NOGO 1 (162), RLHA 1 (77), GOEA 9 (5427) TOTAL 16 (8148)

November 23 [Day 87] The temperature was a balmy -6C at 0800 but a W-WNW wind gusting 30 km/h tempered the potential pleasantness of the situation. The wind steadily increased in velocity reaching 45 km/h at 1700 and the temperature reached a high of -4C at 1200. Cloud cover ranged from 30% to 100% altocumulus and cirrus providing excellent viewing conditions. There was again no early raptor movement with the first bird, a Prairie Falcon, not coming through until 1118, but subsequently there was a slow but steady flow of mainly Golden Eagles, with the last bird, an adult Bald Eagle moving through at 1645. The 11 Golden Eagles was the highest daily count for the species since November 11 and with the exception of one juvenile all the birds were adults. There was a small early morning movement of passerines comprising 1 Snow Bunting, 3 Grey-crowned Rosy finches and 5 Common Redpolls. 10 hours (941.81) BAEA 2 (582), GOEA 11 (5418), PRFA 1 (18) TOTAL 14 (8132)

November 22 [Day 86] It was -10C at 0800 with a NW wind gusting to 25 km/h, but at 1015 the wind dropped to 0-5 km/h from the NNW and remained light W-NW until 1615 when it increased to 20km/h from the west. Initial cloud cover was 70% altostratus which progressively disappeared leaving cloudless skies after 1330, allowing the temperature to rise to -6C. The light winds combined with a northerly upper flow were not conducive to raptor movement and only 4 migrants, 2 adult Bald Eagles and 2 light morph Rough-legged Hawks, came through between 1138 and 1339. All the birds flapped extensively and attempts to soar were generally unsuccessful both testaments to the poor flying conditions. Six Common Redpolls and 3 Grey-crowned Rosy Finches rounded out the migrants for a rather sparse but otherwise pleasant day. 10 hours (931.81) BAEA 2 (580), RLHA 2 (76) TOTAL 4 (8118)

November 21 [Day 85] Three centimetres of snow fell overnight covering the ice patches on the access trail and making the ascent both slow and, at times, painful. The temperature was -13C until 1030 and combined with WNW winds gusting to 40 km/h the resulting wind chill made observation uncomfortable. Blowing snow was also a problem from 1100 to 1300, but by 1400 the temperature had reached a very pleasant -8C and the wind had dropped a breezy 30 km/h. The sky was cloudless until 1100 when altostratus cloud began to develop reaching a maximum of 60% from 1400 to 1500 before dissipating to a cloudless condition again at 1700. Raptor movement was very similar to that of yesterday with the first Bald Eagle moving at 1142 and was again slow but steady until the last Rough-legged Hawk went south at 1645. Seven of the day’s 13 Bald Eagles moved between 1317 and 1334, and 3 of the 4 Golden Eagles between 1213 and 1216. The only non-raptor migrants were a flock of 28 Canada Geese flying high to the south east of the ridge at 0923.
At 1453 I heard a very soft mewling sound which I didn’t recognize, in fact in the wind I was not sure that it wasn’t my boot in the snow or my clothing that was making the sound. I immediately forgot about the noise, however, when I spotted two adult Bald Eagles flying towards me and when I put my binoculars down I found that I was looking into the beautiful sapphire blue eyes of a young, but almost fully grown cougar staring at me about 10 metres away. After recovering from the surprise I made myself appear as large as possible by standing on my toes and arching my arms (this was also assisted by the fact that I was wearing six layers of clothing!), while at the same time quietly loosening my pepper spray in its holster. After we stared at each other for about 30 seconds I deliberately and overtly turned my head away in what (I hoped) was a submissive gesture and after another 20 seconds the animal moved down-slope to the east where it stood at the edge of the forest making the same mewling sound that I had originally heard. About 20 seconds later an adult female cougar loped down to the young animal passing about 10 metres to the north of me and both immediately disappeared into the forest. If I thought that the young animal looked large the female looked huge by comparison and I was rather relieved that she completely ignored me. 10.08 hours (921.81) BAEA 13 (578), RLHA 2 (74), GOEA 4 (5407) TOTAL 19 (8114)

November 20 [Day 84] I was back on the ridge today where the sky was cloudless all day with a temperature of -10C at 0800 that rose to -4C at 1500 and down to -9C at 1700. Winds were again generally light W or WNW, normally 10-14 km/h with even calm periods in the late afternoon. The first raptors were 3 Bald Eagles at 1140 and movement was subsequently slow but steady until the last Bald Eagle went south at 1615. The count of 15 Bald Eagles is the highest since November 10, and the single Rough-legged Hawk at 1406 is the first seen since November 11. The only non-raptor migrant moving in any numbers was Canada Goose with 378 birds counted including a flock of 130 flying west at 1213 and one of 150 flying south at 1718. The only passerines moving were 9 Common Redpolls. 10.08 hours (911.73) BAEA 15 (565), NOGO 1 (161), RLHA 1 (72), GOEA 3 (5403) TOTAL 20 (8095)