Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 06, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 23 30 Osprey 0 3 4 Bald Eagle 0 2 35 Northern Harrier 1 1 4 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 3 15 Cooper's Hawk 13 16 29 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 15 74 234 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 2 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 10 Golden Eagle 0 1 13 American Kestrel 8 31 63 Merlin 0 0 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 2 11 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 2 5 5 Unknown Buteo 0 5 19 Unknown Falcon 0 8 10 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 3 Total: 40 174 489 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Gary Rossmiller Observers: Cynthia Madsen Visitors: Lise Neer at noon Weather: Overcast, chilly day. Breath visible in the air. Very calm, light breeze out of NE shifting to W later in day. Hazy all day with more clouds/ground haze to the north. Mt. Morrison towers hidden until noon. Sleeper House appeared later in the day. Horizons visible, more clearly to the south. Fairly steady barometer, lower than yesterday. Raptor Observations: Flights mostly to the east or directly overhead until late in the day when we discovered several accipitors over west ridge. The raptors came up at treeline initially, then higher, visible in sky later in the afternoon. Lots of Coopers hawks today! Non-raptor Observations: Covey of mountain bluebirds near trail on way up, 2 scrub jays throughout the day, local RT at base of ridge to east moving in both directions, solitary goose heading north, blue heron seen from parking lot at end of day Predictions: Yesterday was a beautiful day for hawk watchers; clear, warm, windy. Very few birds. Today was cool, chilly and overcast with minimal winds. Lots of raptors. Tomorrow? Wait and see! ======================================================================== 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.
