March 10 Daily Flight Summary

Official Counter         

Adam Richardson

Observers       

N/A

Weather         

-24 C in camp this morning.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of the switch to daylight savings time.  Fortunately, that was ok as I wasn’t about to go anywhere at 9:00AM.  It was slow and uncomfortable breaking camp in the shade of the conifers uphill of Camp Baker on the Smith River Rd.  I did note that the temperature dropped 3 degrees driving back down to the Smith River some 500ft or so.  I arrived at Camp Baker around noon and shoveled out a nice area to count from along the banks of the river.   Currently 33cm of snow is on the ground at Camp Baker.  In areas the drifts are deeper and the wind drifted snow has a nice thick slab on top.  Underneath the snow is very sugary and unconsolidated.  No clouds to speak of and the winds were light and steady out of the south at 7 kph.  It was -12 C at the start of the count and it warmed up to -5 by 17:00.  By this time the wind had completely set down.  The visibility was excellent and the barometer was steady throughout the count.

Raptor Notes 

Two adult Golden Eagles migrated south today along the Smith River.  The flight path the birds followed today was to appear over Jumbo Mountain to the east of the river then cross directly in front of my count location or just a little to the west near a bluff behind the ranger housing.  Both birds were quite obvious as migrants as the flapped the entire way down the river on a straight flight path.  The second bird flew almost directly overhead. 

It was during the minuscule flight between 13:00-15:00 that a resident BAEA (A) flew down river to perch on Berkins Butte.  Shortly after it came down the river two resident (A) GOEA flew down the river together one perching near the BAEA and the other parachuting down to the snow after some prey it was unsuccessful at securing.  The two GOEA perched prominently in old snags possibly enjoying the warming temps off the south face of the butte.  I have been told by several locals in the area about these birds so it was nice to note them in the resident log.

Non-raptor Notes

All non-raptors will be documented as well as raptors at the Camp Baker eBird Hotspot.  Black-billed Magpie were vocal throughout the day.  One pair came into the willows near where I was counting from and would make the oddest noises to each other.  A lone TOSO came and kept me company from the same willows shortly thereafter.  I thoroughly enjoy making the acquaintance of the resident birds in a new location.  To the north about 60 Mallard were seen coming and going from the ranch to the north.  Since the entire area is covered in snow, it is where the ranchers have plowed for calving season that the ducks, deer, antelope and other wildlife are concentrating.  There are interesting tracks everywhere, in fact I saw one blood trail in the snow.

After observing the first two migrants come through and the residents I have decided to move upstream and uphill behind the ranger housing.  From where I had been sitting, I have some obstructions to my field of view.  The work shop at Camp Baker makes tracking low birds hard and the small rise to the east of the Smith River blocks birds that go low behind it (which is what the resident BAEA and of the GOEA did).  Additionally, the willows that line the river banks are quite high and tracking distant birds to the east is difficult.  I reconnoitered the area behind the ranger housing and it has a much better view of Jumbo Ridge which for today at least the birds seem to be coming over frequently.  Tomorrow I will shovel out another spot to set up and see how it goes from there.

Visitors           

None

Next Day Forecast

Cold.  Unfortunately, I won’t have many updates on the weather as I have no access to WiFi at Camp Baker.  Make sure and check the NOAA forecast for White Sulphur Springs, MT which I have a link for on the CBHW Blog.

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