Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 20, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 3 29 29 Northern Harrier 1 2 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 7 7 Cooper's Hawk 0 6 6 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 4 104 104 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 9 9 Golden Eagle 0 12 12 American Kestrel 0 4 4 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 6 6 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 10 10 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 2 Total: 8 194 194 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:30:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Paul Slingsby Observers: Francis Commercon, Jim Duggan, Joyce Commercon Visitors: Rob Reilly, a volunteer trail patrol person, visits us each week. He spent over an hour this day and is learning some raptor identification skills. Weather: At 8:00 temperature was 8 deg. C, west wind code 4, sky clear. At 10:00 high thin clouds began when the wind shifted to from the east at code 2. Beginning at 11:00 the wind was variously from the east or north at code 2 with high, thin clouds covering 100% of the sky and visibility still about 10 Km. Raptor Observations: We saw very few raptors, probably due to the wind. Looking straight down the ridge, Francis Commercon spotted two Bald Eagles grasping each other's feet. For Francis that was a spectacular sighting for the day or maybe the season. Not much later, at 10:30, we saw probably the same pair migrating north along Mt. Morrison. Another unusual sight was a Harrier migrating along Mt. Morrison. Non-raptor Observations: Other birds were few on the ridge. Only one blue bird was heard at approximately 8:00. The Scrub Jay pair was present and vocal. Black-billed Magpies were constantly visible. Mountain chicadees and a White-breasted Nuthatch visited. American Crows and Common Ravens were often seen in the distance, especially over Mt. Morrison. A dark morph Red-tailed Hawk that was labelled a local bird on March 6th is no longer around. Observers at Red Rocks report that the Prairie Falcon pair and the Peregrine pair have both begun nesting. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory ([email protected]) Dinosaur Ridge information may be found at: http://www.rmbo.org/ Site Description: Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawkwatch in Colorado and is the best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Dinosaur Ridge may be the best place in the country to see the rare dark morph of the Broad-winged Hawk (a few are seen each spring). Hawkwatchers who linger long enough may see resident Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks and Prairie Falcons, in addition to migrating Swainson's, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels and Turkey Vultures. Peregrine Falcons and Ferruginous Hawks are uncommon; Northern Goshawk is rare but regular. Non-raptor species include Rock Wren, and sometimes Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane, White-throated Swift, American White Pelican or Dusky Grouse. Birders are always welcome. The hawkwatch is generally staffed by volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory from about 9 AM to around 4 PM from the first week of March to the first week of May. Directions to site: >From exit 259 on I-70 towards Morrison, drive south under freeway and take left into first parking lot, the Stegosaurus lot. Follow small signs from the south side of lot to hawkwatch site. The hike starts heading east on an old two-track and quickly turns south onto a trail on the west side of the ridge. When the trail nears the top of the ridge, turn left, head through the gate, and walk to the clearly-visible, flat area at the crest of the ridge. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
