Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 05, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 3 22 22 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 0 1 Northern Harrier 1 1 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 4 10 Cooper's Hawk 2 8 11 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 10 23 96 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 2 Golden Eagle 0 0 3 American Kestrel 2 8 27 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 1 1 4 Prairie Falcon 0 0 2 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 4 8 Unknown Buteo 0 3 6 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Total: 19 74 197 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:30:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Lee Farrell Observers: Kathanne Lynch Visitors: A number of very pleasant individuals inquired as to what we were doing, they seemed interested and appreciative, but not likely to take up the cause. And, as has become the norm this year, there were an equal number of people, oblivious to what was taking place, getting in the way, occupying our immediate space, making hawk watching more difficult than it might be otherwise. Weather: A warm sunny day with limited cloud cover, winds were variable and ranged in strength from calm to 3 BFT Raptor Observations: Most of the migrating birds were observed at the limit of binoculars and west of the ridge. Birds were for the most part circling up in thermals and gliding away to the north. Only the Kestrels passed close to the station. Mid-morning a Peregrine circled up south of the station, then glided away directly north at a high rate of speed until it was out of sight, it was counted as a migrator. The two local Peregrines appeared mid-afternoon circling for a period of time above the station. A number of local Red-tailed Hawks were seen throughout the day, several non-migrating Turkey Vultures were observed along west ridge. Non-raptor Observations: Other bird species seen included: Mountain Bluebird, Black-capped Chickadee, Mountain Chickadee, American Crow, Northern Flicker, Western Scrub-Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Western Meadowlark, Common Raven, American Robin, White-throated Swift, and Spotted Towhee. Predictions: Looks like a another nice day tomorrow with strong winds out of the south and west, only the birds know for sure. ======================================================================== 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/20150406025616.21628.qmail%40taiga.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
