Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: May 01, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 8 8 156 Osprey 1 1 30 Bald Eagle 0 0 38 Northern Harrier 0 0 14 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1 58 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 95 Northern Goshawk 0 0 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 28 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 303 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 2 Swainson's Hawk 1 1 7 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 11 Golden Eagle 0 0 15 American Kestrel 1 1 195 Merlin 0 0 7 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 3 Prairie Falcon 0 0 20 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 26 Unknown Buteo 0 0 27 Unknown Falcon 0 0 21 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 13 Total: 12 12 1073 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 12:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Joyce Commercon Observers: Visitors: About 10 hikers stopped by to take in the view; one of them inquired about raptors. Two mountain bikers visited briefly; both were interested to know what raptors had been seen this day. The second man was happy to hear about the local immature Golden Eagle and mentioned that he likes to watch hawks with his kids. Weather: The temperature remained fairly constant, rising from 3.5 C to 5.5 C. The wind was from the East and increased from calm to code 2, with some code 3 gusts. Visibility was greater than 10 km. Cloud cover was 95-100%. The translucent cloud haze covering the sky produced a faint rainbow halo around the sun for a while; it disappeared as the clouds thickened. An isolated snow shower was seen passing south across the ridge from East to West near 11:00 am MST, reducing visibility directly down the ridge for several minutes. Raptor Observations: Most of the migrants were spotted on the East side of the ridge. Activity peaked near 8:00 am MST with 8 migrants within about one half-hour. There was no predominant height of flight for the day. An immature Golden Eagle (perhaps yesterday's bird) was driven off by a local Red-tail from Bare Slope; it rose high above the I-70/C-470 interchange and headed East. A local Sharp-shinned and the local Northern Goshawk were both spotted. The Goshawk rose high above the ridge, then did a spectacular stoop just East of the ridge. A pair of the local Red-tails spent a fair amount of time kiting together East of the ridge after the wind picked up. Non-raptor Observations: Seven American White Pelicans were spotted high to the West of the ridge heading Southwest. A Double-crested Cormorant flew south along Rooney Valley. One Common Raven was seen that was missing primaries; another pair of Ravens flew in close formation doing aerobatics on the West side of the ridge. Other species seen or heard included: Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees, Spotted Towhee, Western Scrub Jay, American Crow, Western Meadowlark, Black-billed Magpie, White-throated Swift, and Northern Flicker. Also spotted, hiding among the rocks below the observation platform, was a baby rabbit. ======================================================================== 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. 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