Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 24, 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 16 16 Northern Harrier 0 3 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 3 3 Cooper's Hawk 1 1 1 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 13 118 118 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 22 22 Golden Eagle 0 21 21 American Kestrel 3 8 8 Merlin 1 3 3 Peregrine Falcon 0 2 2 Prairie Falcon 0 5 5 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 4 4 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 3 3 Total: 18 211 211 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 10:00:00 Observation end time: 17:30:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Emma Riley Observers: Crystal Reser , Dave Erickson, Jeff Birek, Mariane Erickson Visitors: Jeff Birek was the morning observer and it was great to spend time with him up at the ridge, as we have counted on different days all this season so far. Crystal Reeser, Mariane Erickson, and Dave Erickson observed in the afternoon. We had a total of 30 visitors today with 24 of them interacting with us, including a handful of visitors that stayed for 30+ minutes. Weather: The morning started out with strong winds from the west, reaching speeds of 33 km/h, and brought an eerie dark cloud over the western mountains in the late morning. We luckily did not get any precipitation and by the early afternoon winds had slowed and skies cleared up. Raptor Observations: The morning started out slow again but brought our first COHA migrant of the season in the 1100 hour. Birds stayed low and overhead all morning, gaining decent elevation throughout the afternoon. We had an usually high number of dark RTHA today, two western dark-morphs and two dark Harlan's. We also had three AMKE migrate today, the highest number of AMKE yet this season. Non-raptor Observations: The first Western Bluebirds (6) of the season were seen today, along with the first Pine Siskin of the season. We also had the normal suspects, including Spotted Towhee and Mountain Bluebird. Corvid activity seemed to be back to normal today. Predictions: Sunny for most of the day with variable but mild-moderate winds. We are hoping we'll get our first OPSR and/or TUVU in the next few days. ======================================================================== 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/0101017fbef1f2e6-04b701c0-f2ce-478c-8ef5-958134697b61-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
