Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 18, 2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 80 81 Osprey 1 20 20 Bald Eagle 0 4 16 Northern Harrier 0 5 6 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 39 48 Cooper's Hawk 1 69 75 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 1 3 3 Red-tailed Hawk 3 205 298 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 2 2 Ferruginous Hawk 0 6 10 Golden Eagle 0 6 9 American Kestrel 1 47 52 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 4 Prairie Falcon 1 4 4 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 9 12 Unknown Buteo 0 4 9 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 1 3 Unknown Raptor 0 4 7 Total: 9 515 662 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Roger Rouch Observers: Visitors: None. Weather: There was a chilly feel to the air in spite of Weather Underground's moderate temperatures from the high 40's to the low 60's. The wind was from easterly directions about 2 bft. to 3 bft. Mostly cloudy until the last hour when the sun broke through. Low clouds obscured the south horizon and the hills south of Mt. Morrison most of the morning, although overhead visibility was decent. A few mid-morning rain drops. Raptor Observations: An Osprey and a Broad-winged passed over Rooney Road below eye level in the first hour (8:00-9:00 MST). The remainder of the migrants were at various elevations overhead, including the limit of binoculars, and somewhat evenly spaced through the day. The only resident raptors were a sole Red-tailed hunting over the Rooney Valley and a male Kestrel perched on the power line. Non-raptor Observations: Also seen or heard: Western Bluebird (2), Woodhouse's Scrub Jay, Western Meadow Lark, Common Raven, American Crow. An interesting group of 15 or 20 unid. gulls traveled north along the west flank of Green Mountain. ======================================================================== 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/acfb4bef6953b798d5e4616976039666%40hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
