Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 29, 2022 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 4 358 384 Osprey 0 43 45 Bald Eagle 0 25 58 Northern Harrier 0 24 30 Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 63 72 Cooper's Hawk 2 169 180 Northern Goshawk 0 7 9 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 1 44 44 Red-tailed Hawk 0 317 732 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 3 Swainson's Hawk 0 34 34 Ferruginous Hawk 0 9 63 Golden Eagle 0 9 37 American Kestrel 1 294 326 Merlin 0 13 17 Peregrine Falcon 0 9 16 Prairie Falcon 0 3 10 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 12 12 Unknown Buteo 0 9 15 Unknown Falcon 0 3 5 Unknown Eagle 0 3 3 Unknown Raptor 0 3 8 Total: 11 1451 2103 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 10:45:00 Total observation time: 1.75 hours Official Counter: Emma Riley Observers: Dale Campau , Dave Hill Visitors: Dave Hill and Dale Campau volunteered to observe this morning and stuck out the winds for a bit of time. Bill Rivers, Kathryn Mutz, Mark Chavez, and Aaron Shipe were also visiting the ridge this morning and helped spot birds while getting great looks and photos of the BW. It was a fun morning while it lasted. We had a total of 6 visitors up at the Hawk Watch today. Weather: Winds from the NW and W started out calm today but picked up as predicted. Clouds were scattered across the sky all morning. Humidity was low and fire danger was high all along the front range. At 1015 MST winds started consistently blowing at 40-50 km/h and were getting worse over the next 30 minutes, causing us to end the count at 1045 MST. Raptor Observations: We had a nice little push of migrants before the torrential winds settled in for the day, including three SS back to back! The highlight of the morning was an adult BW that came overhead and could be seen naked eye. Local RT were seen all morning using the winds to their advantage to hunt. Non-raptor Observations: We had a great variety of birds up at the ridge this morning including Pine Siskin (3), Lazuli Bunting (1), Rock Wren (1), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (2), Stellar's Jay (1), Blue Jay (1), Yellow-rumped Warbler (4), and more of the usual suspects. Predictions: Sunny and warm with winds predicted to be moderate from the NE. We are hoping for more of the SS push that we got a hint of today. ======================================================================== 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/0101018077f73814-ab4ff764-1d70-4e12-8599-1c18b21213f6-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
