Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 25, 2013 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 136 145 Osprey 1 21 22 Bald Eagle 0 2 29 Northern Harrier 1 5 6 Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 73 81 Cooper's Hawk 3 78 89 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 7 23 23 Red-tailed Hawk 2 81 215 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 6 Swainson's Hawk 1 5 5 Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 9 Golden Eagle 0 5 8 American Kestrel 17 85 107 Merlin 0 3 3 Peregrine Falcon 0 12 13 Prairie Falcon 0 3 17 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 2 27 31 Unknown Buteo 1 22 31 Unknown Falcon 1 6 6 Unknown Eagle 0 1 1 Unknown Raptor 1 10 13 Total: 41 599 860 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Claude Vallieres Observers: Roger Rouch Visitors: 5 visitors, one being from Virginia, all of which asked questions about our activity and about what we were seeing. By-passers were hikers, joggers and few bicyclists likely due to muddy trail. Weather: Temperatures were variable and ranged from 18-C to 10-C at end of watch. Sunny clear skies until early afterrnoon when winds picked up with increasing cloud cover at 100% and decreasing temperatures. Wind speeds ranged from 0 to 3 Bueford scale. Raptor Observations: Migrating raptors were: 1 Turkey Vulture, 1 Osprey attacked by an unknown Buteo and was also accompanied by an unknown Accipiter who both disappeared, 1 male Nothern Harrier accompanied by a Sharp-shinned Hawk, 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 3 Cooper's Hawks, 7 adult Broad-winged Hawks one being a dark-morph, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, 17 American Kestrels (individuals and groups), 2 unknown Accipiters, 1 unknown Buteo, 1 unknown Falcon, 1 unknown Raptor. The watch ended with 1 dark-morph adult Swainson's Hawk for a total of 41 Raptors. Cloud cover and poor lighting conditions along with distant and high flying raptors contributed to unknown identification. Afternoon changing weather conditions also led to raptors flying the far western ridge compared to earlier ones flying along and over Dino Ridge. Local raptors observed were: 7 Turkey Vultures, 7 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 female Northern Harrier who fled West to East and several American Kestrels. Non-raptor Observations: Also heard or seen were: 1 Steller's Jay, 1 Red-breasted Nurhatch, a Meadowlark, 3 Nothern Flickers, a pair of Common Ravens, 13 migrating American White Pelicans, numerous Townsend's Solitaires, numerous Black-billed Magpies, Western Scrub Jays, Spotted Towhees, Bushtits, 3 Mountain Chickadees, American Robins and numerous White-throated Swifts. Mammals were 13 Mule Deer and a Cotton-tail Rabbit. Predictions: Forecast for 60-F degrees and sunshine. Trail drying up and only muddy in spots. ======================================================================== 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.
