Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 27, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 94 97 Osprey 0 11 11 Bald Eagle 0 2 27 Northern Harrier 0 3 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 33 38 Cooper's Hawk 0 56 71 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 0 112 242 Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 9 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 9 Golden Eagle 0 4 11 American Kestrel 0 63 77 Merlin 0 4 4 Peregrine Falcon 0 2 4 Prairie Falcon 0 2 7 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 20 22 Unknown Buteo 0 19 24 Unknown Falcon 0 3 3 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 4 8 Total: 0 438 670 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 12:30:00 Total observation time: 3.5 hours Official Counter: Bill Wuerthele Observers: Visitors: There were very few hikers/bikers on the trail today, likely because of the chilly, windy weather. There were no visitors to the Hawk Watch site. Weather: It was a very windy, overcast day on the Ridge. The wind, out of the northwest, was about 4 bft (12 - 17 mph) at 9:00 am, building to a sustained 6 bft (24 - 30 mph) by mid-morning with frequent gusts to 7 bft (31 - 38 mph). Temperatures held at around 45 F. Although the cloud cover was 100% throughout the observation period, there was no precipitation. Because high winds were expected for the remainder of the afternoon and were apparently limiting raptor movement, I left the site at 12:30 pm. My 3 1/2 hour perch atop the very windy Ridge was made possible by the beneficent summit junipers. Raptor Observations: It was a very slow day on the Ridge, with little bird activity of any kind. The sum of the raptor observations consisted of a few brief appearances by several local Red-tailed hawks, several local Turkey Vultures and a local Sharp-shinned Hawk. No migrating raptors were observed. Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptor Observations. Non-raptor species heard or seen included: Western Meadowlark, Black-billed Magpie, Mourning Dove, Common Raven, Western Scrub-Jay, Broad-tailed Hummingbird and Rock Wren (on the platform). Predictions: Looks like another windy day. ======================================================================== 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/20140427220228.7623.qmail%40taiga.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
