Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 06, 2016 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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 4 4 Northern Harrier 0 1 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 2 27 27 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 0 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 0 0 0 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 0 4 4 Unknown Falcon 1 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 2 Total: 3 42 42 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Bill Wuerthele Observers: Cyndy Johnson, Susan Blansett Visitors: A warm Sunday and a dry trail brought many hikers, bikers, joggers and families to the ridge. A number of people stopped by to talk and ask questions. Rob Reilly, a JeffCo. Parks Volunteer, spent some time helping, and Richard Cuellar spent the last hour of the period helping scan as well. Weather: It was a warm day for early March, with a high temperature of 64 F. Light westerly winds in the morning shifted to the south by midday and picked up somewhat (3 bft.). A fairly clear morning sky became overcast by midmorning, with 90% cloud cover by noon. Raptor Observations: Migrating Raptors: It was a slow day on the ridge with a total of three migrating raptors, two Red-tailed Hawks and one unidentified falcon. Non-migrating Raptors: There were numerous sightings of local Red-tailed Hawks. A local Prairie Falcon and a local male American Kestrel each made brief appearances. Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptor Observations: It was a surprisingly quiet day for non-raptors as well, with the following species seen or heard: American Robin, Bushtit, Western Scrub-Jay, Townsend's Solitaire, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow and Common Raven. Predictions: A much cooler, breezy day ahead. The summit Juniper trees will play an important role. ======================================================================== 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/3b69fdcce33ebca2c07507ca9038bad3%40www.hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
