March 24 [Day 21] (Terry Waters, assisted by Cliff Hansen) After sitting out two days of winter weather Terry was finally rewarded with a decent day. A cloudless sky at 0830 allowed the temperature to drop to a season-low -17C, but it rose to 3C between 1400 and 1700 and was still 1C at 1900. Ground winds were light SSW all day, and ridge winds were probably similar. Skies remained clear until noon when altostratus cloud developed that reached 100% by 1400 and stayed that way for the rest of the day giving hazy sunshine and excellent observing conditions. Migration conditions also proved to be favourable as a total of 163 migrant raptors were seen between 1128 and 1845, which is the second highest count this season. Most of the birds seen before 1500 moved on the western ridges, generally from Mount Kidd to Mount Allan then on to Pigeon Mountain. The hourly counts during this period were 1128-1200 (21), 12-1300 (26), 13-1400 (7) and 14-1500 (9). Between 1500 and 1600 only 1 Golden Eagle was seen, and when the flow started again the birds appeared above the northern end of the Fisher Range, soared high (with a maximum of 8 birds seen soaring together) before crossing the Kananaskis Valley to Mount Lorette and onwards to the NW. Hourly counts after 1600 were 16-1700 (38), 17-1800 (47) and 1800-1845 (14). The flight comprised 4 Bald Eagles (3a,1sa), the seasons first Cooper's Hawk (a juvenile that flew low to the north above the observers), the season's first 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks (1a,1u), 1 indeterminate small Accipiter, and 155 Golden Eagles (144a,6sa,5u) which is the second highest count of the season. Other birds included 25 Canada Geese flying very high to the NE around 1400, 1 male Belted Kingfisher, the season's first American Crow, 1 American Robin and 12 Common Redpolls. 10.5 (200.02) BAEA 4 (25), SSHA 2 (2), COHA 1 (1), UA 1 (1), GOEA 155 TOTAL 163 (509)

Beauvais Ridge (Peter Sherrington) No observation as the mountains to the south were obscured all day. During the morning I visited the Livingstone Gap and was surprised to find the Livingstone ridge there completely clear, although unbroken stratus persisted immediately east of the mountains, through which I heard a flock of Snow Geese migrating high towards the north, just east of the ridge. During the early to mid afternoon the Piitaistakis Ridge at the southern end of the Livingstone Range was partially enveloped in cloud, but clearly birds were getting through to Mount Lorette.

The further adventures of “Elaine” For the last 3 days Elaine has been moving almost due west and today she was about 18 km west of the confluence of the Liard and Ketchika Rivers, just under 50 km south of the Yukon-BC border.