Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 12, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 37 44 Osprey 0 3 4 Bald Eagle 0 3 36 Northern Harrier 0 1 4 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 7 19 Cooper's Hawk 1 28 41 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 86 246 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 2 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 10 Golden Eagle 0 1 13 American Kestrel 0 42 74 Merlin 0 0 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 3 12 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 11 11 Unknown Buteo 0 10 24 Unknown Falcon 0 11 13 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 3 Total: 1 243 558 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Gary Rossmiller Observers: Cynthia Madsen Visitors: Jim Banks and a group of 16 Audubon members that Cynthia invited were present for the first 1.5 hours. Ann, Kathy, Walt, Linda, Mary, Elna, Bill, Joan, Rich, Betsy, Will, Clint, Joello, Georgia, Angela, Rich. Seth stopped by at noon and discussed raptor and birdwatching in the Centennial area (common neighborhood for the two of them) with Cynthia. Weather: Partially sunny morn with light high altitude clouds with occasional sun becoming cloudier as the day progressed. Afternoon was overcast. Light to moderate wind out of the east. Hazy all day, worse to the north as is typical. Falling barometer and humidity. Raptor Observations: A few local TV around Green Mtn, Mt. Morrison and to the west. Occasional RT soaring and flying with mates in all directions. A Cooper soared overhead then west past Two Pines but seemed to drop to the south. Probably local. Local AK going south. Non-raptor Observations: Quite a few local birds between 10-11am, after that few if any birds or raptors. Large number of Swifts moving north first hour. Pair of House Finches on poles. N. Flicker, Towhee, Meadowlarks, and Scrub Jays heard on east side of ridge. The 5 does were downhill of the trail this morning. Good day for para sailing over Lookout Mtn. 2 flights of 2 F-16's to the south. Predictions: It's gotta get better! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (jeff.bi...@rmbo.org) 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
