Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 04, 2022 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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 0 0 Northern Harrier 0 2 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1 1 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 18 18 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 4 7 7 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 0 0 Total: 5 36 36 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:30:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Emma Riley Observers: Dale Campau , Dave Hill, Sammy Korengut Visitors: We had a great group of observers on the ridge today including David Hill, Sammy Korengut, Dale Campau, and Doug Anderson in the morning. Total visitors today was 29, with about half of those people inquiring about the hawkwatch. The local RT were showing off for visitors, flying directly overhead at a few points in the day. It was great to be able to show them some birds. Weather: The day started off with full cloud cover and a moderate wind of 10 km/h and a temp of 14 C. Rain could be seen to the west, but no precipitation ever reached us. Early afternoon the clouds almost totally cleared up and revealed the strong Colorado sun. The day ended like it started, with thick cloud cover coming in and temperatures rapidly dropping. We could again see precipitation just to the west of us, but 1700 came before it reached us. Winter weather is expected to continue rolling in tonight through Monday. Raptor Observations: The local birds today stole the show, giving us incredible looks at some courtship behavior between local RT. The same "leg drop" bird that has been seen the last few days was incredibly active, keeping us entertained. We also found another pair of local GE, bringing our count up to four. All four birds could be seen today. GE was also the star migrant of the day, with four GE taking a similar WNW migratory path at incredible altitude. We also counted our first SS today. Non-raptor Observations: Lots of corvid activity today as well as some nice Mountain Bluebird movement along the ridge. Two Black-billed Magpies were seen chasing off the migrating SS. Other visitors include the regulars- Townsend's Solitaire, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay, and Bushtits. One American Robin was perched on the nearby snag at the end of the day. Predictions: A winter storm is rolling in this weekend, with Sunday being the worst. We are hopeful we'll get a full day's count tomorrow and we are looking forward to seeing how the birds behave through this storm. ======================================================================== 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. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- 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/0101017f57fa397e-f3bb98fc-51e1-44ba-9cdb-714ee70f7fca-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
