Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 01, 2022 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 1 Bald Eagle 0 0 1 Northern Harrier 0 0 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 2 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 13 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 22 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 7 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 2 Golden Eagle 0 0 11 American Kestrel 0 0 10 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 1 Prairie Falcon 0 0 3 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Total: 0 0 78 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 10:30:00 Total observation time: 2.5 hours Official Counter: Ajit Antony Observers: Weather: Today was the only day this week according to earth.nullschool.net which didn't have strong unfavorable winds to the north of the watch preventing hawks migrating past this watch. Weather.gov for Morrison CO predicted light winds at 6 mph from SW>S>SE to the inevitable daily NE by the afternoon caused by the Denver Convergence Vorticity Zone, but there were strong winds at the watch initially at Level 5 from the WSW. Radar showing the DCVZ around Denver: https://radar.weather.gov/station/kftg/standard Raptor Observations: Another day with no migrant hawks. The only raptor I saw was an adult RT once only and far to the SW at 10:25 AM MDT. When I counted in the East when the migration was slow I would try to encourage myself by telling myself I wouldn't have lunch until I saw at least one more migrant, but at this site if I did the same I would starve! Non-raptor Observations: Steller's Jay 4, Townsend's Solitaire 6, American Robin 6. When there are no hawks to observe, one observes anything that moves – there were 17 planes in the sky at one time. Predictions: For the 2 days there are strong SW winds, and the 2 days after that a band of strong West winds north of the watch at around the Wyoming – Colorado border which should inhibit any migratory flight of this site. ======================================================================== 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 hawk watch in Colorado and is the best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Hawk watchers may see 17 species of migrating raptors; and it is an excellent site to see rare dark morph buteos including Broad-winged hawk, Swainson’s hawk, Ferruginous hawk, Rough-legged hawk and Red-tailed Hawk. Other raptors we see include Golden and Bald Eagles, Northern harrier, Osprey, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Merlin, and Turkey Vultures. Northern Goshawk is uncommon but also counted each season. Non-raptor species include Rock Wren, Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane, White-throated Swift, American White Pelican, and Dusky Grouse. Birders of any skill level are always welcome. The hawk watch at Dinosaur Ridge is staffed by a Hawk Counter and volunteers from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM from March 1st to May 14th, weather permitting. 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/0101018435265b78-ae22a7ff-1086-4647-b9b9-3e698bf3dd48-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
