Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 22, 2022 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 5 310 336 Osprey 0 36 38 Bald Eagle 0 21 54 Northern Harrier 0 19 25 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 55 64 Cooper's Hawk 6 147 158 Northern Goshawk 0 5 7 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 3 32 32 Red-tailed Hawk 1 303 718 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 3 Swainson's Hawk 3 21 21 Ferruginous Hawk 0 9 63 Golden Eagle 0 8 36 American Kestrel 4 281 313 Merlin 1 11 15 Peregrine Falcon 0 7 14 Prairie Falcon 0 2 9 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 12 12 Unknown Buteo 0 8 14 Unknown Falcon 0 2 4 Unknown Eagle 0 3 3 Unknown Raptor 0 1 6 Total: 23 1293 1945 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Emma Riley, Steve Small Observers: Carol Cwiklinski, Chris Gearhart, Dave Hill, Steve Small Visitors: Steve Small, Carol Cwiklinski, Dave Hill, and Chris Gearhart helped observe today. Steve and Carol started the count early at 0730 before Emma got to the ridge at 0900. We had 6 visitors at the ridge today. Weather: Winds were strong from the SE first thing in the morning, but died down after that until early afternoon. We had gusts all day but winds got worse at about 1330 MST causing us to end the count early. Wind direction was from the SE for most of the day but we often felt strong gusts from the direct W of us. A dust storm could be seen both south and east of us at the time we ended the count. Our counter lives in Fort Collins and reported a large dust storm all along the front range on her drive home. Raptor Observations: The morning started off with a quick push of raptors but then went all but silent. Movement stayed slow for the rest of the day, with our last migrant seen 2 hours before the wind pushed us off the ridge. The local TVs were seen all day along the western ridge often flying south. Non-raptor Observations: Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, Say's Phoebe, White-throated Swift, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, and Stellar's Jay were seen today. Corvid activity and passerine activity was low. We are noticing that migrant passerine activity is low and potentially delayed. Predictions: Tomorrow is much cooler than the last two days with winds predicted from the NW with the potential to reach speeds of 40 mph or 65 km/h. Precipitation is expected to move in tomorrow night into Sunday. People all over the Front Range are starting to discuss the high number of strong wind days we are having this spring. ======================================================================== 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/0101018053b1a421-8d7a7917-9316-4dfe-bd3d-703a1fff1225-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
