Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 23, 2018 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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 1 1 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1 Cooper's Hawk 0 2 2 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 107 107 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 6 6 American Kestrel 0 1 1 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 0 0 0 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 2 2 Unknown Buteo 0 4 4 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 1 126 126 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Debbie James Observers: Rob Reilly Visitors: A woman with a small group of young children ate lunch up at the station, but didn't indicate much interest in what I was doing. A few other people stepped up momentarily to enjoy the view. Weather: It started out warm and beautiful, the precipitation sure did lots of good, yet by the top of the second hour the %!*& wind started up strong. The storm from the mountains reached the Ridge at the top of the 3rd hour when there were a few drops of rain, along with high winds. I ended an hour early due to extreme wind, and absolutely no birds in the air. Raptor Observations: The pair of local Red Tail Hawks were present throughout most of the day. The juvenile Golden Eagle swooped by at the end of the second hour. One of the Red Tails had its talons full of dried grasses (nesting material?) and was flying in high winds, but let it all go. The lone migrator worked hard to fly north, but would only make it to the station before being rebuffed and getting stuck, stationary in the wind. Finally in the top of the second hour it did successfully migrate, having worked for over fifteen minutes to accomplish that. Non-raptor Observations: I saw elk hoof prints on the west side of the Ridge on the way up, but didn't see the elk themselves. Also seen or heard were 2 Black-billed Magpie; 2 Dark-eyed Junco; 2 House Finch; 2 Say's Phoebe; 2 Townsend's Solitaire; 8 American Robin, and the highlight of the day were 7 White-Throated Swifts zooming north over the Ridge. Predictions: Tomorrow looks to be a little cooler with low winds. I can imagine all of the birds who set down today will be on the move. Have fun! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies ([email protected]) Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.org/ More site information at hawkcount.org: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=123 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/d0f407fd1f3cd7919ecf38fd3c19b676%40www.hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
