Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 18, 2020
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 1 10 10
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1
Cooper's Hawk 2 3 3
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 10 54 54
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 2 4 4
Total: 15 80 80
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Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 5.5 hours
Official Counter: Carol Cwiklinski, Joyce Commercon
Observers: Carol Cwiklinski, Joyce Commercon
Visitors:
Many, many people were on the Dinosaur Ridge, Matthews-Winters, and Green
Mountain Trails. It was a near unending stream of visitors stopping by for
the view, but there were rarely more than five people together on the
platform at any time. A dad and his young son got to see a juvenile Bald
Eagle migrant. A mom and her two kids were treated to a fairly close look
at an adult Turkey Vulture; they were interested to learn what a raptor was
and what some different raptors eat. Later in the afternoon, an older
gentleman was pleased to learn about the HawkWatch and shared that he likes
Kestrels.
Weather:
The day started off with blue skies and very little cloud-cover, with winds
from the southeast and east at bft 2-3. Near 11:00am MST, cloud-cover
relatively quickly increased to 60-percent, eventually reaching 90-percent
by the end of the watch, with a mix of chunky cumulus and thinner cloud
sheets. Winds became extremely variable in direction and force after noon
MST, slacking off then gusting strongly to bft 3-4, with the stronger winds
coming from the southwest and west. Temperatures were fairly steady,
ranging from 15 to 16C. Feeling warm or chilly depended mostly on the
changing winds and shifting clouds. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
Most of the migrants passed by close to the 10-11am hour (MST). A highlight
was a juvenile Bald Eagle that cruised, easily visible, over the HawkWatch
platform. Soon after that, the nice cloud-filled skies did not reveal any
migrants for about two hours. In the last hour of the watch, when the
variable winds occasionally held steady for more than a few moments, one
Red-tailed Hawk migrant coming up the Ridge was seen to turn to face into
the strong southwest winds, which it then used to lift itself very high;
drifting to the northeast somewhat, this Red-tail circled up even higher
and then shot north. This migration technique was new to this hawkwatcher.
An adult Turkey Vulture came north a few times near the platform, as if
to
say hello. (First TUVU of the season for me and Carol.) Finally, it landed
on one of the power-poles just north of the platform. Perched there, it
preened for about 20 minutes. Lovely!
A local Red-tailed Hawk pair were seen fairly regularly, sometimes hunting
in Rooney Valley; the male of the pair was seen chasing a migrant Red-tail
in the morning. A local Golden Eagle also came south to circle high over
the north end of Rooney Valley.
Non-raptor Observations:
A few Mountain Bluebirds migrated north along the Ridge; one was seen
flying partially sideways against the wind in the afternoon. A Common Raven
accomplished an impressive, complete backflip maneuver over Rooney Valley.
Also seen or heard today were Townsend's Solitaire, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay,
American Crow, Bushtit, and Mountain Chickadee. About fifteen Elk were
spotted near Bare Slope.
Predictions:
A winter storm is predicted to move into the area tomorrow morning with
high winds and several inches of snow.
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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.
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