Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: May 03, 2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 29 33 81 Osprey 0 1 21 Bald Eagle 0 0 15 Northern Harrier 0 0 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 6 6 48 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 57 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 1 1 96 Red-tailed Hawk 6 6 118 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 7 8 16 Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 0 6 American Kestrel 0 0 57 Merlin 0 0 7 Peregrine Falcon 1 1 8 Prairie Falcon 0 0 2 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 3 Unknown Buteo 0 2 8 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 4 Total: 50 60 550 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 12:00:00 Total observation time: 3.75 hours Official Counter: Carol Cwiklinski Observers: Steve Small Visitors: Many people and bicycles were using the trail today and very few wore masks. Today’s count was conducted at the power line to increase social distancing. We had one Master Birding class student visit our location for the last 30 minutes of the count. Weather: Today was sunny with few clouds and light winds out of the NE. Thermals seemed to be excellent. Gradually clouds began to build over the western ridge but did little to lower the flight. Raptor Observations: Our first few minutes of the count were interesting with two close accipiters and a kettle of turkey vultures. The vultures were an excellent sight to see, kettling in the classic migration formation over the ridge. Aside from a few close buteos, most birds counted were far and high. Non-raptor Observations: ======================================================================== 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/8dafca8f017a0fb6515940580e7808dd%40hawkcount.org.
