> Hello everyone,
> Some interesting migrants in the grasslands
> south of Boulder (Coalton Trail, off Hwy 128) this afternoon
> included 1 immature light FERRUGINOUS HAWK, ... This area often > holds a
> handful of
> Ferruginous Hawks in the winter months, but I feel that Aug
> 17th is significantly early for this species in the Boulder
> area.
Funny, just over a week ago I was pretty sure I saw an imm light ferrug on the
"CU South" property near S. Boulder Creek. The view wasn't terrific so I
didn't want to say anything, but I guess there is the possibility that these
hawks are moving W toward their wintering grounds especially early this year.
(Though S. Boulder Cr doesn't seem to be a popular area for ferruginous hawks
most winters...)
> About 99.5% of the Black-tailed Prairie Dogs south of
> Coal Creek have succumbed to plague this summer. It will be
> interesting to see if there are any repercussions on the
> wintering raptor population in the region.
>
Last summer several p-dog colonies died out on the north side of Coal Creek and
wintering raptor numbers in the area W of Original Superior seemed waaaay down.
I don't have scientific data, but I was seeing far fewer ferruginous and
red-tailed hawks, as well as golden and bald eagles. Normally you could expect
to see up to a dozen raptors in an hour's walk on a sunny day, but last winter
you'd have been lucky to see a couple.
Peter Ruprecht
Superior
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