Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 24, 2023 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 13 263 278 Osprey 4 31 33 Bald Eagle 0 19 50 Northern Harrier 1 11 22 Sharp-shinned Hawk 8 47 55 Cooper's Hawk 9 159 177 Northern Goshawk 0 1 8 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 32 67 67 Red-tailed Hawk 5 112 399 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 2 10 10 Ferruginous Hawk 0 7 47 Golden Eagle 1 7 33 American Kestrel 17 234 294 Merlin 0 9 19 Peregrine Falcon 3 8 13 Prairie Falcon 0 0 5 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 4 7 Unknown Buteo 0 1 2 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 2 Total: 95 991 1522 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Ajit Antony Observers: Andrew Jensen, Kathie Moses, Liza Antony, Steve Small Visitors: A birding couple from Winter Park looking after their grandchildren in Conifer had heard of the hawk watch and came up for a few hours. A running club of 10 members from Golden ranging from 8-14 years with their leader. Weather: Good cloud cover intermittently, winds mainly from the ESE, good visibility with some haziness. For specific hourly weather data go to Hawkcount.org. Raptor Observations: The 1st migrant was the CH at 8:38 AM MST which was the only real close bird just east of the watch. A few of the Osprey came low enough to be visible with the naked eye – good binocular looks. We had 32 BW today and according to Steve the highest this watch has ever had in a day is 35. Non-migrant raptors: Golden Eagle 5 all flying West, RT 1-3, TV 3, AK flying east. Non-raptor Observations: Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 1, Western Meadowlark heard, White Pelican 15, Say's Phoebe 2, Spotted Towhee 1, White-throated Swift, Barn Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Tree Swallow, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 3, Mourning Dove 4, Northern Flicker heard, Common Raven 3, Great Blue Heron 1. Kathie Moses had never seen a BW and wanted to see one and after a while wanted to find a hawk before Steve did – she was able to combine both ambitions in one bird! Thanks to Andrew for helping and aging the GE with his scope, and a heartfelt thanks to Steve for finding and IDing most of the raptors, without whom we would have had a meager count indeed. Predictions: The forecast is for rain at 44% risk after 9 AM MDT, 72% after 12 noon and 82% chance of rain after 3 PM with a chance of thunder after 12 noon – with winds from the N>NNE – so the count could be ended early. ======================================================================== 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. 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/01010187b611a27c-4e3b3dfb-15e6-4a6e-a390-20f577e5d266-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
