Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 02, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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 0 0 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 0 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 0 0 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Bill Wuerthele Observers: Francis Commercon Visitors: A few intrepid bikers/hikers/joggers were on the trail. A man and his son stopped by. They were quite interested in hawk migration and had lots of good questions. They plan to return when warmer weather will likely increase raptor activity. Weather: Much like the the first day of the 2014 season, day two began as a pleasant winter scene: with snow flurries, the temperature holding around 10 F, and low clouds obscuring the tops of Mt. Morrison and Green Mountain. By noon, the sun had broken through, and by 4:00 pm, under partly cloudy skies, the temperature had climbed to 28 F. Winds were light throughout, from the northeast in the morning shifting to easterly about mid-day. Raptor Observations: It was a very slow day on the Ridge, with little bird activity of any kind. A local Prairie Falcon flew close by the Ridge and briefly perched on the telephone pole behind the site. Two Red-tailed Hawks, showing no migratory behavior, were seen. And, an unidentified Buteo was seen far to the south, heading southeast. Non-raptor Observations: Non-Raptor Observations: 4 Common Ravens, 2 Townsend's Solitaires and 2 Black-billed Magpies. Predictions: Hopefully, the much warmer weather predicted for this week will lead to some raptor movement. ======================================================================== 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]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/20140303183713.22441.qmail%40taiga.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
