Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: May 03, 2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 5 11 116 Osprey 0 2 27 Bald Eagle 0 0 18 Northern Harrier 0 0 9 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 4 59 Cooper's Hawk 0 2 96 Northern Goshawk 0 0 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 12 Red-tailed Hawk 4 6 322 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 9 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 10 Golden Eagle 1 1 12 American Kestrel 1 3 59 Merlin 0 0 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 4 Prairie Falcon 0 0 4 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 14 Unknown Buteo 0 0 9 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 3 Unknown Raptor 0 0 12 Total: 11 29 799 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 4.5 hours Official Counter: Debbie James Observers: Visitors: Only two people came up to the station to just enjoy the view and then left. Activity on the trail was low, considering how beautiful it was today. Weather: Balmy warm day up on the Ridge, starting at 14 degrees C. and ending up at 18. A light haze persisted until the 3rd hour. The mine to the south was doing blasting today, rising up large clouds of dust. Raptor Observations: Locals: 3 Red-Tailed Hawks, and 6 Turkey Vultures. The Golden Eagle migrating in the second hour had been flying on the EAST side of Green Mountain--I caught it when it came out at the north end, circled up, and then booked it North. The Kestrel flew by the west side of the Ridge, very low, and the 3 Red-tailed Hawks in the 3rd hour were flying together--two immatures and one adult. The local 6 TV's formed a kettle over West Ridge, and then disbanded to search the area for food. Non-raptor Observations: I would like to echo Roger in commending the reporting this year, and to underscore how it helped me anticipate conditions and how migration was coming along up on the Ridge. Other birds seen or heard today: 1 Mountain Bluebird; 1 American Crow; 1 Broad-tailed Hummingbird; 1 Spotted Towhee; 1 Rock Wren (who was busy in the boulders on the West side, below the station); 2 Swallow sp.; 2 Common Raven; 2 Bushtit; 1 Woodhouse's Scrub Jay; 5 White-throated Swifts; and one very lovely Yellow-Rumped Warbler, warbling. Predictions: Four more days to 2019 Hawk Watch! ======================================================================== 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/2a63e9806b3d4ed8176f779144220b72%40hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
