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Bridger Raptor Count Fall 2017

Season Summary

Species Count
72
Total Count
9,728

Species Composition

Species composition changes over time depending on weather, seasons, and many other factors. This chart displays the composition over a time period you select.

Click on pie pieces to see more detail. If there are more than seven species, click on "Other" to see a breakdown of the rest.

Display

Many sites have a protocol that is designed to maximize finding particular species. If you select "Focus Species," only these species will be shown.

Date Selector

The control box below the pie chart lets you select a date period for the chart.

You can push the buttons "1d," "1w," or "1m" to zoom the graph to 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month.

The graph shows the overall volume seen on each day. You can drag the sliders on each side of this graph to adjust the start and end dates.

Species Composition
August 27th to November 10th

Drag the Sliders Below to Change the Dates Shown

Hourly Data

The time shown in the top row is the start of the one hour period.

Select Day

Choose a date to load the hourly table for that day. Only days that have data are shown.

Daily Counts

These charts show which species are most numerous at different parts of the season. Hover your mouse over a chart to see the number for a given day. The right column shows season totals and the left side shows the maximum for a single day. Each graph is scaled so that the single-day maximum is the highest point on the chart.

Sort By
  • Focus Species: Show the highest priority species at the top of the list.
  • Taxonomic Order: Sort the species by their scientific classification.
  • Alphabetic Order: Sort the species by their common name.
  • Abundance: Sort the species with the largest number counted at the top.

Daily Counts

Turkey Vulture
70
Osprey
7
Golden Eagle
1535
Northern Harrier
54
Sharp-shinned Hawk
354
Cooper's Hawk
204
American Goshawk
43
Accipiter sp.
50
Show More Species

Bridger Raptor Count Fall 2017

The Bridger Mountains site lies within the Gallatin National Forest on the east slope of the mountain range, about 25 km north of Bozeman and 3 km north of Saddle Peak. The count occurs from a helicopter platform located atop the ridge above Bridger Bowl Ski Area. This ongoing effort monitors long-term trends in populations of raptors using this northern portion of the Rocky Mountain Flyway. The flyway is noted for the largest concentration of Golden Eagles in the lower 48 states, with peak eagle activity (sometimes more than 200 eagles/day) in mid-October.

Directions

From Bozeman go to the Bridger Ski Area, approximately 15 miles NE of town on SR 86 (Bridger Canyon Road). Once at the ski area, the site is accessed from the ski area's Deer Park Chalet by following a primitive dirt road for 1.5 miles to the top of Bridger chair-lift, then continuing a short way along a footpath to the observation site at the top of the ridge. The climb is 2,100 feet in elevation gain and will take from 1.5 to 2 hours. Warm clothing, binoculars, and extra food and water are recommended.

Bridger Mountains Raptor Watch

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About the Data

All data displayed on this site are preliminary and have not yet undergone quality control. Written permission is required to use the data.