Dinosaur Ridge
Colorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 09, 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 1 4 4
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1 1
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 5 13 13
Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 2
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Ferruginous Hawk 0 2 2
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 1 1 1
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: 9 24 24
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 6.5 hours
Official Counter: Bill Wuerthele
Observers: Francis Commercon, Jennifer Clay, Karen Fernandez,
Lee Farrell, Mike Fernandez
Visitors:
A warm weekend day brought a lot of hikers/joggers/bikers to the trail. A
few stopped by to talk and ask questions.
Weather:
A warm, mostly sunny day with a high temperature of 70 F. Light westerly
winds in the morning shifted to northwesterly at mid-morning and picked up
considerably, with a constant 15 to 20 mph "breeze" throughout the
remainder of the observation period. Scattered cirrus clouds drifted in
and out, with cloud cover ranging from 10% to 50%.
Raptor Observations:
Migrating Raptors: A total of nine migrating raptors of five species were
seen - Five Red-tailed Hawks, a Cooper's Hawk, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a Bald
Eagle, and an American Kestrel. Nice variety, but few individuals.
Non-migrating Raptors: There were numerous sightings of local Red-tailed
Hawks, with one pair displaying courtship behavior. A local Prairie Falcon
made a brief appearance high above the Ridge.
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-Raptor Observations included the following species: Mountain Chickadee,
House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common
Raven, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Western Scrub-Jay, Northern Flicker,
American Robin, Bushtit, and Mountain Bluebird (small flock).
Approximately 50 Elk were seen near the Cabrini Monument, and 3 Mule Deer
were seen to the east of the Ridge.
Predictions:
Hopefully, the third warm day in a row will bring 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/20140310054047.32086.qmail%40taiga.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
