Dinosaur Ridge
Colorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 25, 2012
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 1 1
Bald Eagle 0 6 6
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 3 3
Cooper's Hawk 1 7 7
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 42 122 122
Rough-legged Hawk 1 2 2
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1
Ferruginous Hawk 0 2 2
Golden Eagle 2 7 7
American Kestrel 3 15 15
Merlin 0 2 2
Peregrine Falcon 0 2 2
Prairie Falcon 0 5 5
Mississippi Kite 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 1 3 3
Unknown Buteo 0 4 4
Unknown Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 3 4 4
Total: 53 187 187
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Francis Commercon
Observers: Bill Wuerthele, Chris Tremmeling , Cyndy Johnson,
Joe Lupfer, Joyce Commercon, Karen Clark
Visitors:
A crowd was present when we arrived, all watching Elk. A couple came up who
knew Bill, their names were David and Kathleen, and they helped hawk watch
for a while. From 11:00 to 2:00 Chris and Kayleen Tremelling came up and
were very helpful in spotting and identifying raptors.
Weather:
Today was very warm, with mostly clear skies about midday. The sky was
mostly overcast by the time we left, and was overcast early in the morning.
Winds were relatively light, never exceeding a level 2, and, excepting the
hour of 8:00-9:00AM, during which they blew from the northwest, they blew
mostly from the East and northeast.
Raptor Observations:
Most migrants were spotted to the west, and very far away or very high up.
A Rough Legged Hawk was seen flying directly over the ridge at 11:00AM.
Highlights were also a high flying Cooper's Hawk and an immature Golden
Eagle that passed directly over the Ridge. A local Female kestrel was seen
early in the afternoon. Very few local Red Tailed hawks were present,
despite the abundance of migrating raptors. A couple pairs of local Red
Tailed hawks were seen over Mt. Morrison, West Ridge, and Cabrini Shrine;
they were distinguished from the migrants by courtship behavior.
Non-raptor Observations:
Flocks of 15-20 migrating Mountain Bluebirds were seen during the day, and
Western Meadowlarks, Spotted Towhees, Bushtits, Townsend's Solitaires,
Black Capped Chickadees, American Robins, and a Pink Sided Dark Eyed Junco
were all seen or heard. Also, a Double Crested Cormorant was spotted flying
high and to the north, slightly west of the ridge, around 10:00AM
Predictions:
Tomorrow will be a good day as well, with plenty of distant buteos.
========================================================================
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.
