Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 11, 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 5 5 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1 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 0 14 14 Rough-legged Hawk 0 3 3 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 2 2 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 1 1 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 1 1 1 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: 1 28 28 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 12:00:00 Total observation time: 3 hours Official Counter: Claude Vallieres Observers: Kathanne Lynch, Paul Slingsby Visitors: Novice birders, Bob & Heidi Wolford spent an hour with us asking questions and vowing to come back on a better weather day. They'd learned of the Site through the RMBO website. Jim Esten a birder and photographer also visited with us and was driven away by the inclement weather and had learned of the Site via Colorado Birder website. Weather: A strong gust of wind greeted this writer as I crested the ridge setting the tone for a short watch day and for the incoming storm. Winds initially were from the W/NW and changed to E/NE when the approaching weather fronts collided after 11a.m. Wind speeds were 3-4 on the Beaufort scale. Temperatures ranged 44-38 degrees (F) but felt much colder. Cloud cover ranged from 70% to 100% with occasional sunshine in the first 2 hours. Visibility was initially good at 50 km but deteriorated to less than a quarter mile at watch's end when Red Rocks could not be seen because of the corn snow. No rain. Raptor Observations: Only 1 migrant was observed today. A determined Prairie Falcon steadfastly flew North on the West side of the ridge and disappeared somewhere over Golden. Non-raptor Observations: The first two hours provided local raptor activity with a pair of Red-tailed Hawks displaying courtship flight. 2 American Kestrels, 1 Prairie Falcon. 2 other Red-tailed Hawks were sighted trying to skillfully master the strong winds. Other birds sighted early on were flocks of Juncos, Mountain Bluebirds, American Robins along with individual Northern Flickers, Black-billed Magpies, Scrub Jays, Townsend's Solitaires and Ravens. Predictions: Weather forecast calls for improved weather, partly sunny with temperature range 20s to low 50s (F) ======================================================================== 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/20140311232116.27092.qmail%40taiga.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
