Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 10, 2013 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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 14 14 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0 Cooper's Hawk 1 1 1 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 3 20 20 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 1 5 5 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 0 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 5 5 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 5 48 48 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 14:45:00 Total observation time: 5.75 hours Official Counter: Joyce Commercon Observers: Erik Larsen, Francis Commercon, Karen Balog Visitors: We were happy to have Dean Shoup arrive on site to help us for a few hours with HawkWatch, which he had been following on CO birds. One cross-country skier arrived at the HawkWatch Site from the North and passed through on his way. There were also a few trail runners and hikers, with and without dogs, who braved the snow. Weather: The day was cold and sunny with mild winds and a dead blue sky that was heightened in brightness by the thick blanket of snow on the ground. Winds were out of the East and Southeast most of the day, but shifted to the Northeast by mid-afternoon. Temperatures rose from below freezing to about 3 C. Raptor Observations: All migrants passed well to the West of Dinosaur Ridge. The snow made it easier to observe raptors flying below the horizon. A high point of the day was the local adult Golden Eagle perching on the power pole for a half hour in the morning. Non-raptor Observations: The notable non-raptors of the day were some Common Redpolls that frequented the Eastern slope below the HawkWatch Site for a long while in the morning. Also seen and/or heard were Black-capped Chickadee, Bushtit, Townsend's Solitaire, White-breasted Nuthatch, Western Scrub-Jay, Black-billed Magpie, American Robin, Common Raven, American Crow, Canada Goose, Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Flicker, Mountain Bluebird, and Blue Jay. Also seen were 42 Elk on WestRidge early in the morning. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory ([email protected]) 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 unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
