Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 17, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 25 175 190
Osprey 0 18 20
Bald Eagle 3 15 46
Northern Harrier 1 5 16
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 32 40
Cooper's Hawk 6 112 130
Northern Goshawk 0 1 8
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 1 6 6
Red-tailed Hawk 12 91 378
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson's Hawk 0 3 3
Ferruginous Hawk 3 7 47
Golden Eagle 0 4 30
American Kestrel 8 146 206
Merlin 1 4 14
Peregrine Falcon 0 2 7
Prairie Falcon 0 0 5
Mississippi Kite 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 1 1 4
Unknown Buteo 0 1 2
Unknown Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 2
Total: 62 624 1155
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Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 8.5 hours
Official Counter: Ajit Antony
Observers: Carol Cwiklinski, Janet Peters, Martha Delporte,
Natalie Uschner-Arroyo, Sammy Korengut , Steve Small
Visitors:
Around 6 who came and asked questions answered by our able volunteers.
Weather:
I was pleased we had some cloud cover especially to the south which gave us
half a chance to find the migrants in the sky.
For specific hourly weather data see my report at hawkcount.org
Raptor Observations:
The 1st migrants were 4 TV at 9:51 AM MST. Perhaps the best sightings of
the day for me were 2 distant buteos to the south which I was able to get
my scope on and could see their white tails = adult FH, also a distant dark
morph adult FH.
Almost all the raptors were far to the west with only 6 overhead and only
one to the East – a TV found by Martha, and who also found us the ML
flying like "a bat out of hell" which no other migrant raptor could ever
match.
We had 3 kettles of 4 TV each.
Non-migrant raptors: TV 4, RT 2.
Non-raptor Observations:
Rock Wren heard, White Pelican 5, American Crow 3, Common Raven 3, House
Finch 1, Northern Flicker 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1.
I was very pleased to see Carol and Steve show up to help me find and
identity raptors, as I am still learning to get used to this watch with
really distant migrants compared to what I was used to in New York where
the raptors were much closer, and was gratified and reassured to find that
they did not find a whole lot of migrants we were missing!
Thanks to Natalie and Martha for finding raptors in the morning and Janet
and Shmuel in the afternoon.
Predictions:
SW at 18 mph, 31 mph by noon and 40 mph by 3 PM – Carol thinks the count
could be terminated early because of the strong winds.
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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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