Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 23, 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 1 1 Cooper's Hawk 0 6 6 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 7 68 68 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Ferruginous Hawk 0 2 2 Golden Eagle 2 5 5 American Kestrel 0 6 6 Merlin 1 2 2 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 1 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 1 1 Total: 11 110 110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Dave Hill Observers: Ames Rau, Michael Kiessig Visitors: Ames Rau, who hawk watched from this sight in the 1980's with Duane Nelson, helped from 9:00 AM MST to 11:00 AM MST. 7 runners, 28 hikers, 13 bikers and 18 additional hikers with dogs Weather: Today was absolutely wonderful! Temperatures from 63°F to 71°F, SE winds at and below 10 mph, 5-10% cloud cover, and low humidity. Raptor Observations: The action, all day, was along the west ridge. Migrants included 7 Red-tailed Hawks; 2 Golden Eagles - 1 adult and 1 juvenile, 1 Merlin; 1 unidentified falcon. 12 sightings of resident Red-tailed hawks; 1 sighting of the resident Prairie Falcon; 1 sighting of a resident Golden Eagle. Non-raptor Observations: 3 Western Scrub-Jay, 2 Black-billed Magpie, 22 Common Raven, 7 bushtit, 6 Townsend's Solitaire, 1 American Robin, 1 Spotted Towhee, 2 Dark-eyed Junco, 2 Western Meadowlark. ======================================================================== 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.