Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 11, 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 0 1 1 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 6 26 26 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 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: 6 54 54 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Roger Rouch Observers: Bill Flowers, Bill Wuerthele, Claude Vallieres Visitors: Peggy Salzer stopped by for couple of hours in the morning and added a good pair if eyes. She promised to come back when the trail conditions were better. The morning hike up was very icy. Only a few hikers braved the bad trail conditions. Weather: Cool with a moderate wind generally from the north in the morning and east in the afternoon. Partly cloudy with more sun than clouds. Raptor Observations: Six migrating Red-tailed Hawks were counted with observations on the eastern side of Dino Ridge, and over and in front of the west ridges. Sightings were generally at eye level and then gained significant elevation as they moved north. Local Red-tailed Hawks gave the observers many close sightings including a pair in courtship behavior. These were mostly over the valley between the observation site and Green Mountain with relatively little local activity over the western ridges. A local Prairie Falcon perched on a power pole east of the observation site. Non-raptor Observations: Seen and/or heard were Townsend's Solitaire, Western Scrub-Jay, Black-billed Magpie, American Robin, Common Raven, Dark-eyed Junco, and Northern Flicker. Forty or more elk below and north of two pines and another group of about a dozen near Cabrini. Predictions: Possibly similar? The trail improved some during the day but is expected to be fairly icy in the morning and sloppy in the afternoon for at least one more day. The site itself is mostly dry. ======================================================================== 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.
