Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 17, 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 0 9 9 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 0 44 44 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 1 1 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 1 1 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 3 3 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 2 Total: 0 65 65 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (No count conducted today) Visitors: John Dwyer was on site for about 45 min when I arrived and I appreciated his enthusiasm for HawkWatch. Others: It was a very different mix of visitors compared to last season. It was mostly families with school-age kids. Total number of visitors: 30. (Counter: Mike Fernandez) Weather: Mild cool winds from the north and mostly cloudy skies. Stormy looking to the west. Raptor Observations: Migrating Raptors: None seen. Non-Migrating Raptors: A local Red-tailed Hawk flew southbound and low just above Rooney Road. Non-raptor Observations: Five specks spotted far to the west flying together from Two Pines to Apex. Unable to ID them, but eliminated Turkey Vultures, Ravens and Raptors based on behavior. Probably Crows. Seen or heard nearer the platform: Townsend’s Solitaire (4), American Robin (1), Black-billed Magpie (3). Predictions: Raptors seem to be hunkering down like the rest of us. Hopefully just today. Even the Magpies were earthbound on the west meadow the whole 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/ea92b7a4314058e610f120678fe91acb%40hawkcount.org.
