October 23 [Day 32] (George Halmazna) It snowed overnight leaving 5 cm of fresh snow on the ground and light snow throughout the day added another 2 cm before the count was abandoned for the day at 1430. The temperature was initially -7C and reached a high of -5.5C at 1400, ground winds were calm or light and cloud cover was 100% stratocumulus all day. Parts of the ridges briefly became visible, but they were essentially obscured all day. Not surprisingly no Golden Eagles were seen but 7 birds moved low to the south above the valley between 1012 and 1146: 2 Bald Eagles (1a,1j), 1 adult female Northern Harrier and 4 light morph Rough-legged Hawks. Other birds seen included 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 1 American Tree Sparrow and 1 Dark-eyed Junco, while ideal snow-tracking conditions revealed the presence of 2 Canada Lynx in the area.

7 hours (349.84) BAEA 2 (55), NOHA 1 (5), RLHA 4 (52) TOTAL 7 (2283)

The further adventures of “Elaine” At least one Golden Eagle was moving during the day as Elaine flew to the SSE from SE Banff National Park and at the end of the day was roosting somewhere in the Mount Lorette area!