Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 26, 2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 3 102 103 Osprey 3 24 24 Bald Eagle 0 6 18 Northern Harrier 1 7 8 Sharp-shinned Hawk 5 46 55 Cooper's Hawk 9 85 91 Northern Goshawk 1 3 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 4 12 12 Red-tailed Hawk 8 218 311 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 9 9 Ferruginous Hawk 0 6 10 Golden Eagle 2 8 11 American Kestrel 1 48 53 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 4 Prairie Falcon 0 4 4 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 11 14 Unknown Buteo 0 4 9 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 1 3 Unknown Raptor 0 9 12 Total: 37 608 755 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 12:15:00 Total observation time: 4.25 hours Official Counter: Debbie James Observers: Barb Banks, Carol Cwiklinski, David Bell, Jim Banks Visitors: None, although there were plenty of people on the trail. Weather: Very pleasant weather up on the Ridge today--until rain started at 1:15 and we called off the watch. There was a large, low-hanging cloud the first 3 hours of the watch, that possibly obscured high-flying raptors. Brown Cloud over Denver that deepened as day went on. Starting temp was 15 degrees C., with a high of 20. 70% cloudiness persisted all day, with very low winds, so most migrators were flying very high. Raptor Observations: Only a few migrators were near or over the Ridge. The second Osprey of the day flew straight over and we got a nice un-aided look at it. Also a straggly-moulting Goshawk with at least two primary feathers out of its right wing and at least one out of its tail flew close by. Locals: 4 Turkey Vultures; and 6 Red Tailed Hawks. Non-raptor Observations: Also seen or heard: 4 Black-billed Magpie; 1 Blue Jay; 4 Spotted Towhee; 2 Swift sp.; 2 Meadowlark; 2 Woodhouse's Scrub Jay; 6 Swallow sp.; 1 gull sp.; 1 Broad-tailed Hummingbird. Predictions: Contrary to what I said last week--migration still seems to be going strong. ======================================================================== 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/e88726b6d5c1be6d33af1680b8f69c97%40hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
