Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 13, 2016 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 50 65 Osprey 0 2 3 Bald Eagle 0 3 12 Northern Harrier 0 0 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 12 21 Cooper's Hawk 1 21 28 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 2 51 233 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 1 3 3 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 2 Golden Eagle 0 1 2 American Kestrel 0 13 26 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 2 5 Prairie Falcon 0 6 11 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 7 17 Unknown Buteo 1 3 16 Unknown Falcon 0 0 5 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 5 7 Total: 8 179 459 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Gary Rossmiller Observers: Bill Flowers, Cliff Hendrick Visitors: Cliff Hendrick, Bill Flowers, and Bill Pauzauskie were invaluable in helping spot and track birds. 2 spotting scopes can make a big difference. A few hikers runners stopped to inquire. Weather: Very pleasant day with storm clouds approaching. Partial overcast in the am period. The storms either went north or south of us, probably with mostly virga. Temps from 13 C to 20 C, 30.11" dropped to 30.04", humidity 47% to 24%. Winds started out of the ESE at B2 ending out of the south, occasional gusts to B3-4, typically calm most of the hour. Afternoon became very sunny and hot. Slight haze in air. Raptor Observations: Most raptors were close to ridge line at increasing heights as the day progressed. 11 MST saw a good group go by, RT, TV, SS, CH, and a SW. 12 MST we spotted a bird already past us heading firmly NW at a high altitude with a white rump flashing. One of us thought Harrier, two of us thought more buteo, it will be entered as a UB. Local TV's and RT's gave some good displays. Male AK went south on the east side. Non-raptor Observations: 25 elk near Cabrini increased in number as the day progressed. Coyote east side of ridge. Scrubjay, Robin, Vesper Sparrow, N Flicker, Meadowlark, Magpie, Ravens. A group of about 12 white throated swifts were very high over ridge. Day became increasingly quiet and hot. Predictions: Seems to be a low count period, but we had a good mixture today. ======================================================================== 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/cddf80eda9950c33b45122e03e3f2335%40www.hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
