Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 21, 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 18 18 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 3 3 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 15 62 62 Rough-legged Hawk 2 7 7 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 7 7 Golden Eagle 0 2 2 American Kestrel 1 6 6 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 1 2 2 Prairie Falcon 0 5 5 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 1 2 2 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 3 3 Total: 22 118 118 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6.75 hours Official Counter: Dave Hill Observers: Cynthia Madsen, Debbie James, Janet Shin, Jim Schmoker Visitors: Several hikers and bikers used the trail below the HawkWatch lookout site. Four visitors actually came up to look. Weather: Pleasant conditions prevailed on Dinosaur Ridge. The cloud cover intensified throughout the day as snow precipitation is expected for tomorrow (Saturday.) Temperatures ranged from 37-42 deg. F with winds primarily from the east at 3-12 mph. The 40% cloud cover at 9:00 AM MST increased to 95% by 3:00 PM MST. Raptor Observations: The bird of the day was a richly-dressed young male American Kestrel. He perched on a wire just below the HawkWatch site for 45 minutes giving us looks that would "kill." ...preening, stretching his wings, spreading his tail feathers and becoming more handsome with each look. As he examined the ground for prey we noticed his remarkable ability to maintain his head at a fixed point in space as his wind-blown wire perch, and body, gently swayed with the wind. Well-dressed and coordinated, energetic Mr. Kestrel looked ready to work the ways of the world. Non-raptor Observations: We observed our first of season Tree Swallow, an active caterpillar, 19 mule deer and flowering at the ridge's summit. Non-raptors included: Northern Flicker 1 Western Scrub-Jay 6 Black-billed Magpie 9 American Crow 7 Common Raven 9, (3 pairs were cavorting on a "social.") Tree Swallow 1 Mountain Chickadee 2 Western Bluebird 12 Mountain Bluebird 1 Townsend's Solitaire 5 American Robin 16 Dark-eyed Junco 2 Western Meadowlark 1 House Finch 3 Predictions: Brace for snow! ======================================================================== 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/20140322053704.18477.qmail%40taiga.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
