Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 24, 2016 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 70 85 Osprey 0 5 6 Bald Eagle 0 3 12 Northern Harrier 0 0 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 32 41 Cooper's Hawk 0 40 47 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 3 3 Red-tailed Hawk 1 65 247 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 1 7 7 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 2 Golden Eagle 0 1 2 American Kestrel 1 21 34 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 5 8 Prairie Falcon 0 7 12 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 14 24 Unknown Buteo 0 4 17 Unknown Falcon 0 3 8 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 5 7 Total: 4 285 565 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Gary Rossmiller Observers: Justin Dee, Lee Farrell, Linda Farrell Visitors: Linda & Lee Farrell helped in the morning. Justin Dee helped the last hour. Lots of people passing thru the platform, a couple stopped to ask and learn more about the program. Weather: Calm to blustery B6-7, mostly cloudy, mid-day and end of day sunshine. 9 C increasing to 14 C, humidity 40% down to 29%, pressure dropped slightly 29.72" to 29.67". Horizons visible, clouds made sighting easier, what few there were. Raptor Observations: Ravens and local TV's first thing in high winds got my hopes up. Maybe 6, at most, local RT's all day. 2 local RT's after lunch, one with missing feathers on right wing. 4 migrants counted total, 2 of those could be discussed. Swainson's straight over ridge then NW, fairly high; RT on east side of ridge lower than us but soared and headed NW; SS very low on east side during high winds; AK just off west side of ridge working very, very hard going north. Non-raptor Observations: 4 American Pelicans soaring extremely high over Green Mountain in the early afternoon, lost in the clouds. Spotted Towhee, Robins, N Flicker, Magpies, Meadowlark, lots of Swifts all day, and Western Bluebirds? Predictions: I predict a good time will be had by raptors and volunteers. ======================================================================== 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/9e86143a418bf74fd247433ca8a0b76a%40www.hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
