Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 21, 2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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 9 9 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1 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 8 58 58 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 3 3 Golden Eagle 0 1 1 American Kestrel 0 0 0 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 0 0 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 0 2 2 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 1 2 2 Unknown Raptor 1 2 2 Total: 11 79 79 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 13:30:00 Total observation time: 5.5 hours Official Counter: Roger Rouch Observers: Jim Low, Kara Clark Visitors: Birder Myron Gerhard was helpful in spotting and identification for about an hour in the afternoon. Weather: A generally mild day with winds from the SE 1 or 2 Bft. early, then 3 or 4 Bft. later. Partly cloudy in the AM, then cloudy and a light atmospheric haze all day. Temperatures per Weather Underground (KCOMORRI37) rose from the low 30's to the low 60's although the afternoon felt much cooler on the ridge. Raptor Observations: Migrating raptors were active in the later morning and also end of day and were generally either at the limit of unaided vision or 10X binoculars. Some activity over the western ridge line. Resident local Red-tailed were active. Also see were local Golden Eagle and Unid. Falcon. The extra pairs of eyes were very helpful spotting and identifying the more distant birds and segregating resident from migrating in flat light conditions. Non-raptor Observations: Also see or heard: Common Raven, American Crow, Bushtit, Woodhouse's Scrub-jay, chickadee, Townsend's Solitaire, Canada Geese, Black-billed Magpie, American Robin, and a group of about 10 Mountain Bluebirds that landed in the dead tree just SE of the platform. All times reported as Mountain Standard time. Predictions: Uncertain with changing weather. The lower trail is dry and the upper has short sections of mud that are easily avoided. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Matthew Smith ([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/ae1890a6fdff0ae82f95a0db5a694582%40hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
