Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 08, 2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 2 4 4 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1 Cooper's Hawk 0 1 1 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 10 25 25 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 2 2 American Kestrel 0 0 0 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 0 0 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 12 35 35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 10:15:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 3.75 hours Official Counter: Observers: Spencer England Visitors: I had many visitors today asking if I've seen anything good today. I would always explain that I'm with the HMANA. I would also tell them that all of the info was on the website. I told most people to check out DFO as well. Weather: Beautiful day on the ridge today. High of 66 F degrees with a low of about 55 F. There was a slight breeze all day with winds going north. Raptor Observations: 10:30-11 10:50 - RTHA hitting heat thermal and rising ridiculously high and then continuing north 11-12 11:05 - 5 red tail hawks in 2 different locations flying together. 1 local red tail hawk doing a lot of work to chase them away. The local has been patrolling ever since I arrived this morning 11:10 - Bald Eagle 11:15 2 more red tail hawks just gunning it north. This spot on dinosaur ridge has been perfect for watching hawks catch thermals and rise up and then book it north. 12-1 12:17 - No real action for the last hour until now. 1 red tail hawk migrating 1-2 1:05 - 1 RTHA and 1 Bald Eagle migrating. They were only about 2 minutes apart from each other. Non-raptor Observations: A large group of crows flew north in a pack. I believe I counted 19 of them. I had many ravens fly over as well. On the ridge near to me I had the normal locals like a Townsend's Solitaire, Scrub Jays, Black Capped Chickadees, Bushtit, Magpie, and Juncos. I also had 1 Brown Creeper (whistled for quite a long time beside me (Tree, Tree, Beautiful Tree!!). In addition to the Creeper, I had 2 Mountain Chickadees pop up beside more a minute. ======================================================================== 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/45aba930c739e55830c511899b1a22d5%40hawkcount.org.
