Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 13, 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 7 7 Northern Harrier 0 3 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 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 8 37 37 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 2 2 2 Golden Eagle 3 15 15 American Kestrel 2 3 3 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 2 2 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: 15 76 76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Carol Cwiklinski Observers: Steve Small Visitors: Sunny drove all the way from Texas to see his lifer golden eagle. He was patient and was rewarded with an adult flying right over us about 20 feet above the ridge. He did the happy dance. We had 126 visitors to the top, and 22 people asked about the hawk watch. An annoying drone flew over us, too close to the power lines. The trail has some muddy areas but it is not too bad. Weather: Good weather today, starting out sunny and comfortable with light winds. Later clouds moved in from the north and winds increased making it much cooler. By days end, the winds became a problem just in time to end the count. Raptor Observations: We have labeled this golden eagle day. We had as many as six GE, one subadult and five adult, in the air at the same time. They seemed to mill around most of the day. We were able to tease out three migrants from the mix. We had a nice variety of raptors today and although still slow, it felt like birds are starting to move. The adult FH gave us good looks. We observed a non migrating prairie falcon and Cooper’s hawk in addition to the golden eagles and red-tailed hawks. Non-raptor Observations: Sandhill Cranes (21), Mountain bluebirds (36), white-breasted nuthatch and the usual species seen. Predictions: No snow in the forecast. ======================================================================== 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/0101017f85fd0c1b-807337d0-9f7b-4fc9-8d54-3ccbf1d5207f-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
