Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 08, 2023
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 21 83 98
Osprey 2 10 12
Bald Eagle 2 6 37
Northern Harrier 0 2 13
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5 11 19
Cooper's Hawk 26 64 82
Northern Goshawk 0 1 8
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 1 1 1
Red-tailed Hawk 11 47 334
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Ferruginous Hawk 0 2 42
Golden Eagle 0 1 27
American Kestrel 15 76 136
Merlin 1 2 12
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 5
Prairie Falcon 0 0 5
Mississippi Kite 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 3
Unknown Buteo 0 0 1
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 2
Total: 84 306 837
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 16:30:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Emma Riley
Observers: Aarohi Barman, Carol Cwiklinski, Janet Peters,
Matthew Klimock, Steve Small
Visitors:
We had a great turn out today of both DFO volunteers and local hawkwatchers
and birders. Thank you to Carol Cwiklinski, Steve Small, Janet Peters & her
lovely granddaughter June, Matthew Klimock, Ruth Smith, Tim Meehan, and
Jenika & Lee Doberstein for all your help spotting and IDing migrants
today. We also saw 41 visitors at the site with many folks getting a chance
to see some birds and have time to ask questions and talk migration.
Weather:
We’re getting into a nice stretch of warmer days which is a great relief
from some of the weather we’ve been experiencing this season. Winds
shifted a couple times today, with predominantly E winds in the morning and
W winds later in the day, also getting a bit stronger towards the end.
Cloud cover was consistent all day and some rain clouds could be seen along
the western ridges in the late afternoon. We lucked out today and didn’t
experience any precipitation at the ridge.
Raptor Observations:
Migration started bright and early today with our busiest hour in the the
first 30 minutes thanks to two kettles of TV. We had a great push of CH
today and counted the first BW of the season! Birds were everywhere during
the push and we got many close CH along the ridge. Non-migrant raptors seen
today include a couple TV low in the valleys as well as near the top of
Morrison. Other non-migrants include GE (1), RT (2), and CH (1).
Non-raptor Observations:
The non-raptor highlight of the day was a RNSA that briefly stopped by a
burnt Ponderosa Pine right at our site. Other non-raptors seen or heard
include WTSF (50+), SCJA (1), SPTO (2), TOSO (4), AMRO (5), BCCH (2), HOFI
(3), CORA (6), and AMCR (6).
Predictions:
Temperatures will continue to climb tomorrow bringing strong sun and
hopefully good thermals. Winds are predicted to be out of the N for most of
the day. We never know what to expect with a north wind but we are hoping
for another great push of migrants.
========================================================================
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
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at:
https://dunkadoo.org/explore/denver-field-ornithologists/dinosaur-ridge-spring-2023
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.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com
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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/0101018763e2962e-2072777e-22c0-41b2-815c-7a001ce35d1f-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
