Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 13, 2023 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 3 12 12 Northern Harrier 0 1 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 2 2 Cooper's Hawk 0 1 1 Northern Goshawk 0 3 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 13 63 63 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 13 14 Golden Eagle 2 14 14 American Kestrel 1 1 1 Merlin 2 3 3 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 0 3 3 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 2 Total: 21 121 122 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Ajit Antony Observers: Liza Antony, Sammy Korengut Visitors: Jim Low from Wisconsin helped. Our 2 volunteers from last week Natalie and Andrew in the morning respectively were very helpful in finding raptors. Andrew in particular though it is his first year at a hawk watch was very facile with his spotting scope finding and describing raptors. Weather: Light winds from the SE changing to moderate winds from the East, partly cloudy, temperature 5>12>7°C, low humidity, steady barometric pressure, much haziness which cleared partly during the day, with initial clear visibility only 4 Km (Mount Morrison), with a wide band of smog to the NE. Raptor Observations: The 1st raptor we saw was the local RT at 9:45 AM MST. The 1st migrant was an RT at 10:20 AM which was missing R1 and R2 rectrices on the left. At 10:35 AM we had a dark morph adult RT flying directly over the watch (without any white speckling in the breast or underwing coverts to distinguish Harlan's Hawk). The 2 Merlin behaved true to form and attacked an adult BE and an RT on their flight North. An adult GE at 11:20 AM which initially looked like a migrant turned around and flew south. The 2 migrant GE at 3:30 PM and 3:45 PM low over the western ridge. A local Subadult III BE with a black terminal tail band on a white tail and a white head no distinct black through the eye. Many local RT sightings. Liza was superb as usual spotting distant raptors as did Shmuel (Sammy). Of the 3 migrating BE – one was an adult; 1 was Basic I with an irregular trailing edge to its wings, white axillars, dark body; the other probably a Juvenile had white axillars and coverts with a dark head, body but missing 2 central tail feathers. Non-raptor Observations: Townsend's Solitaire 3, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1, Mountain Chickadee 1, Common Raven 8, Northern Flicker heard. Elk 21 and 12 in 2 groups, Mule Deer 8. 4 paragliders to the NW. ======================================================================== 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 hawk watch signs from the southwest end of the parking lot to the hawk watch 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, and walk to the 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. 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