Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 22, 2021 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 30 101 104 Osprey 7 14 14 Bald Eagle 0 6 19 Northern Harrier 0 3 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 19 52 66 Cooper's Hawk 6 56 67 Northern Goshawk 2 6 10 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 5 8 8 Red-tailed Hawk 11 104 297 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 7 7 Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 8 Golden Eagle 0 3 9 American Kestrel 6 52 54 Merlin 0 6 10 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 8 Prairie Falcon 8 19 20 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 3 7 8 Unknown Buteo 0 8 17 Unknown Falcon 0 3 5 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 1 2 5 Total: 98 462 740 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Gary Rossmiller Observers: Janet Peters Visitors: Darrel stopped by during the first hour, Patty and Kerry stayed and helped spot the 2nd 2-1/2 hours. Skye revisited us for an hour during the lunch hour and was rewarded with the Ospreys and AK's. I only saw 2 people on the trail. Weather: Extremely changeable! Very bright at first with snow everywhere, chilly. Muddy trails were only slightly frozen. Day changed from graupel, overcast, brief periods of sun. Temps from 0 C up to 6.6 C, winds were lower today from calm up to B3, barometer rose slightly from 24.36" up to 24.38". Sun and storms seemed to be on a 45 minute cycle. Horizons mostly hidden by haze. Mt. Morrison's towers disappeared briefly this afternoon. Raptor Observations: Excellent! Raptors were low to the east side of the ridge, moving up to low overhead, to soaring overhead very high during the last hour. Changeable lighting late in the day made some id harder. Osprey came by at eye level, all the visitors were impressed with the sightings today. Local RT's were hunting right away this morning. Counted a NH but then it appeared on the other side of the ridge and headed west. When following a raptor, we would notice another raptor that got by us, resulting in the high Unidentified count. Non-raptor Observations: Hummingbird, Townsend Solitaire, Spotted Towhee, Raven, White Throated Swift, and a Yellow Rumped Warbler right past our juniper bush. Not sure if it was an Audubon's or a Myrtle. Western Bluebird pair perched in dead tree. Didn't see any Magpies. A large migration of elk or deer came across the lower path either late yesterday or this morning. Tons of tracks. Predictions: Seems to be lots of raptors waiting to move. Hopefully will be another busy day. Be prepared for a very muddy lower trail. ======================================================================== Report submitted by DAVID HILL () Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: http://www.dfobirds.org More site information at hawkcount.org: https://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 of any skill level are always welcome. HawkWatch at Dinosaur Ridge is generally staffed by volunteers 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 southwest end of lot to the 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. (Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain: 259 feet) -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. 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