Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 15, 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 1 6 6 Northern Harrier 0 2 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 2 2 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 5 78 78 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 5 5 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 0 2 2 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 1 6 6 Unknown Falcon 0 3 3 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 2 Total: 7 109 109 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Bill Flowers Observers: Bill Wuerthele Visitors: No visitors on this windy, cold day. Three mountain bikers, two joggers, and one dog walker were seen passing the site. Weather: The day started windy and ended windy, ranging from 15 to 40 mph. It was mostly sunny, but we had some snow spitting on us around the lunch hour. Raptor Observations: Some of resident Red-tailed Hawks were seen with one escorting a migrant Red-tailed Hawk. Most of the migrant Red-tailed Hawks were seen from 1:30 to 2:30 MDT just above the Hawkwatch site. It made identification easier. It also seemed the hawks were flying in pairs with the second hawk following the first hawk about 1 minute later and using the same flight path. Non-raptor Observations: The following birds were seen/heard: Black-billed Magpie, Western Scrub-Jay, American Robin, Townsend's Solitaire, Rock Dove, Bushtits, Brown Creeper, Dark-eyed Junco, Common Ravens, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Western Meadowlark. Several Mule Deer were seen leaving the ridge and crossing CR 93 to the west. Predictions: Probably similar migrant activity, but it could be better since the temperature will be higher and the winds slightly less. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies ([email protected]) Dinosaur Ridge information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.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 Bird Conservancy of the Rockies from about 9 AM to around 3 PM from March 1st to May 7th. 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/8b2f9b2d5c956a5978df88195e76e71b%40www.hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
