Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 17, 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 6 6 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0 Cooper's Hawk 2 5 5 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 4 47 47 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Ferruginous Hawk 0 2 2 Golden Eagle 0 3 3 American Kestrel 0 4 4 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 0 5 5 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 2 2 Unknown Buteo 0 2 2 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 1 1 Total: 6 81 81 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Gary Rossmiller Observers: Julia Auckland, Karen Bellina, Tim Smart Visitors: Tim Smart provided his expertise and scope. RT's and eagles may not have been spotted without his experience and the scope. Karen Bellina and Julia Aukland joined us mid-morning for several hours, both spotting activity. Rob from Jeffco Parks joined us at lunch. Weather: Chilly breeze out of the west first thing with light overcast blocking a warming sun. Horizon visible in all directions. Overcast increasing from 20% light wispy clouds to 90%. Falling barometer 29.53" down to 29.40". Wind gusting at times to 3-4 out of the east. Temp from 12 deg C to 20.6 deg C. Very pleasant, warming day with some cloud cover. Raptor Observations: Someone needs to turn on the raptor release valve! 2 CH east side of the ridge 0-1 height (first one very close), 4 RT to the west at great distances. Thought we had SS hawk heading consistently north till it reached I-70 and turned directly south and glided away. A couple of golden eagles sighted to the west. No locals on the power poles today. Non-raptor Observations: A few local RT's during the day, ravens, robins, shrub jays, western meadowlark heard early to the east. 4 deer below us on the east side, herds of deer and elk scattered on Apex Mountain. A raucous committee of magpies flew about later in the afternoon. Hot air balloons to the north early in the morn. Very busy day on the trail. Predictions: I'm betting the count will continue to be low until this warm weather pattern is shaken up. ======================================================================== 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.
