Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: May 02, 2016 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 1 90 Osprey 4 4 14 Bald Eagle 0 0 12 Northern Harrier 0 0 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 7 7 51 Cooper's Hawk 2 2 51 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 3 Red-tailed Hawk 2 2 252 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 7 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 2 Golden Eagle 0 0 2 American Kestrel 0 0 38 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 10 Prairie Falcon 0 0 12 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 25 Unknown Buteo 0 0 17 Unknown Falcon 1 1 9 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 8 Total: 17 17 607 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Joyce Commercon Observers: Richard Cuellar Visitors: The only visitor to the platform was a hiker who had missed the correct descent trail. Weather: The day was sunny with blue skies. Minimal cloud-cover formed only along the horizons. Snow cover was extensive along the ridges and valleys in the morning, with the exception of lower elevations south of W Alameda Pkwy. Snow became patchy on the ridges and cleared nearly completely in Rooney Valley due to rising temperatures (4 to 11 C; 40 to 52 F). Winds were mostly from the east or northeast and very calm (0-1 bft) with only a rare gust to 2 bft. Raptor Observations: More than half of the migrating raptors were Accipiters, mostly Sharp-shinned Hawks. Four Ospreys were observed to move north in the morning; two went past together. The bulk of the migrants passed by in the morning, especially during the 10 am—11 am MST hour and nearly all passed over top of or very near to Dinosaur Ridge. A local juvenile Golden Eagle sailed south directly over the HawkWatch site and hung around farther down the Ridge for the rest of the watch. Other local highlights included a couple of views of a local Peregrine Falcon, as well as the local male American Kestrel. The local Turkey Vultures traveled up and down the Ridge, as usual. The local Red-tailed Hawk pair made several appearances, mostly in Rooney Valley. Non-raptor Observations: A group of 6 American White Pelicans were observed to go south in the morning and another group of 3 were seen circling north of the HawkWatch site in the afternoon. White-throated Swifts swept up and down the Ridge in the early afternoon. Also seen or heard were American Robin, Spotted Towhee, Northern Flicker, Western Meadowlark, Common Raven, Pink-sided Dark-eyed Junco, Black-billed Magpie, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Western Bluebird, Mountain Bluebird, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, American Crow, Chipping Sparrow, Mourning Dove, and Rock Pigeon. A herd of about 80 elk were spotted on West Ridge. Seven mule deer were seen in Rooney Valley. ======================================================================== 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/45f26389d03621379baeec60c277b431%40www.hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
