Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: May 04, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 9 24 172 Osprey 0 1 30 Bald Eagle 0 0 38 Northern Harrier 0 0 14 Sharp-shinned Hawk 9 10 67 Cooper's Hawk 2 3 98 Northern Goshawk 0 0 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 28 Red-tailed Hawk 2 3 306 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 2 Swainson's Hawk 0 2 8 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 11 Golden Eagle 0 0 15 American Kestrel 29 30 224 Merlin 0 0 7 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 3 Prairie Falcon 0 1 21 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 1 4 30 Unknown Buteo 2 2 29 Unknown Falcon 1 1 22 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 13 Total: 55 81 1142 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Gary Rossmiller Observers: Bill Wuerthele Weather: Sunny morning with a few clouds gathering, similar to yesterday. Gusty winds, higher than yesterday, up to Force 6. Clouds increased with seemingly imminent rain. A few drops but nothing more. Day became calmer, storm started to pass by end of watch. Lower barometer than yesterday but rising from 29.91" to 29.97". Chilly day with clouds and high winds. Hikers seemed to wonder why we were tightly and fully dressed in wet cool weather gear. Raptor Observations: Accipitors, TV's and AK!! The 3 of us kept busy in the afternoon. Cloudy skies made color id of AK's very difficult. Lots of TV's both local and migrating. It's tough to distinguish with that species at times. One followed the contours of Green Mountain very closely like a local, but continued on past S. Table Mtn. Several unidentified sightings, one UB may have been a Swainson's in poor light over West Ridge. Non-raptor Observations: Bill W. is an excellent birder and identified many small birds by sight and song. Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Violet Green Swallows. Bill's wife, Susanne was a great asset to have on a busy day with her excellent spotting. No deer or elk visible. Baby bunny sighted. Some great flybys by local RT, TV and Ravens. Almost continous flights of swifts in the afternoon. Predictions: So much for yesterday's prediction of being past the high number days!! ======================================================================== 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.
