Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 01, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 2 2 5 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 0 25 Northern Harrier 1 1 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 4 9 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 15 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 7 7 137 Rough-legged Hawk 1 1 8 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 8 Golden Eagle 0 0 7 American Kestrel 2 2 16 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 2 Prairie Falcon 0 0 5 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 2 2 4 Unknown Buteo 0 0 5 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 4 Total: 19 19 251 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Claude Vallieres Observers: Paul Slingsby Visitors: Chris Tremel who had previously visited the sight returned for 2 hours to assist in observations. Over 12 people stopped by with only two expressing interest, a lady from Summit County shared her mountain observations of raptors, and a second visitor helped point out sightings during his brief visit. Weather: The first three hours were pleasant with sunshine and little wind. From 12-2 pm the front was upon us with only a few snow flurries occurring. At 2 pm the sun glazed through the clouds causing a warm up and a small surge in raptor migration. Temperatures ranged from 32-41 F with winds 0-2 on the Beaufort Scale and occasional gusts up to 20 mph. Cloud cover range was from 10 % to 100%. Raptor Observations: The 19 migrating raptors were: 7 Red-tailed Hawks, one of which joined 3 local R-Ts soaring over the far western ridge before splitting from the others into a strong glide Northwards, 1 Rough-legged Hawk accompanied by a Turkey Vulture, later a second Turkey Vulture came from the far SE migrating in a NW direction, 4 Sharp-shinned Hawks,2 American Kestrels, 2 Unidentified Accipiters to far away for specific identification, and 1 very high flying Northern Harrier (FOS) who had been seen going back and forth E to W and back again before finally deciding to migrate North. Non-raptor Observations: The local raptors consisted of the ubiquitous Red-tailed Hawks being very active with 20 plus sightings and only 2 American Kestrel sightings. Other bird sightings were not as numerous included, Western Scrub Jays, Black-billed Magpies, a singing Western Meadowlark, Common Ravens, American Crows, a few small flocks of Mt. Bluebirds, a calling Northern Flicker, Townsend's Solitaire, Eurasian Collared Doves, a White Rock Dove, 2 Mountain Chickadees and a possible Unidentified Wren who to briefly appeared to be identified. 15 Elk were on the Cabrini ridge and 6 Mule Deer along the East side of Dinosaur Ridge. Predictions: Cooler temperatures with a rain/snow forecasted for next two days. ======================================================================== 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/20140402155342.25616.qmail%40taiga.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
