Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 23, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 2 4 4
Osprey 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 2 23 23
Northern Harrier 0 6 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 6 6
Cooper's Hawk 0 4 4
Northern Goshawk 0 5 5
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 10 163 163
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Ferruginous Hawk 1 30 31
Golden Eagle 0 24 24
American Kestrel 2 13 13
Merlin 0 3 3
Peregrine Falcon 0 2 2
Prairie Falcon 0 4 4
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: 17 291 292
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Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 16:30:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Emma Riley
Observers: Gary Rossmiller, Janet Peters, Kathie Moses,
Mark Meiklejohn
Visitors:
Thank you to Janet Peters, Gary Rossmiller, Mark Meiklejohn, and Kathie
Moses for your help spotting and IDing our migrants today! We saw 20
visitors at the ridge today, with many visitors checking our new count
board. We see a man and his dog coming to eat lunch at the site about once
a week and he stopped by today, curious as to how the season is going.
Weather:
We finally had a somewhat accurate weather prediction with today seeing
varying cloud cover and mild temperatures. Winds started out from the east
and shifted westward by the early afternoon. Precipitation could be seen
west and north of us towards the end of the day, and we got very brief
flurries on the ridge.
Raptor Observations:
Todays migration started off with a bang with both birds and the line they
took. Most migrants before 12 MST were seen below eye level passing us and
finding an updraft or thermal just south of the count platform. Birds were
seen on both sides of the ridge, but a majority were seen along the eastern
side of the Dakota Hogback. Highlights include two TV taking the low line,
our second Harlan’s of the season, a low adult light-morph FH, and two
male AK in the afternoon. Non-migrant activity was moderate today, but when
storms were seen north of us all bird activity ceased. We saw a local GE
and the local RT pair multiple times today, and a very close PR right as we
got to the ridge this morning.
Non-raptor Observations:
We continue to see SACR migrating north high along the foothills.
Surprisingly, we did not hear any of the 7 that we saw today. We saw our
first WEBL (9) today moving north eye-level along the eastern side of the
Hogback. Other non-raptors seen today were HOFI (7), PISI (1), BCCH (1).
DEJU (3), TOSO (4), AMRO (14), BBMA (5), SCJA (1), CORA (11), and AMCR (6).
Predictions:
Temperatures are expected to stay mild tomorrow with a sunny morning and
cloud cover in the afternoon. Winds are expected to stay mild but vary in
direction throughout the day. If the wind does in fact so this it could be
a slow day for migration, but often we end up with east winds despite the
forecast. We are hoping for the latter, and to continue to see more
migrants after the recent systems that have moved along the front range.
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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)
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