Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: May 14, 2023 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 83 435 Osprey 1 13 63 Bald Eagle 0 5 55 Northern Harrier 0 2 31 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 28 102 Cooper's Hawk 0 58 279 Northern Goshawk 0 0 9 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 45 156 Red-tailed Hawk 1 57 496 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 40 72 Ferruginous Hawk 0 12 64 Golden Eagle 0 4 40 American Kestrel 0 26 378 Merlin 0 4 26 Peregrine Falcon 0 2 20 Prairie Falcon 0 0 5 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 6 17 Unknown Buteo 1 3 6 Unknown Falcon 1 1 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 1 3 Total: 4 390 2259 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 4.5 hours Official Counter: Emma Riley Observers: Aarohi Barman Visitors: We saw 4 visitors at the ridge today including a Jefferson County ranger coming to collect supplies, making the end of the season really sink in. I have been saying this all season but it needs to be said again- thank you to everyone who has made this season run efficiently and brought skill, passion, and great company to the count. We could not do it without the help of our DFO volunteers. We will see you next spring, and happy birding in the meantime! Weather: Light rain and low clouds came and went at the ridge for most of the morning until settling in in the early afternoon. Winds were from the NE and never got too strong. Raptor Observations: All four of our migrants today came through the clouds or below eye level, but the low visibility made a confident identification challenging on two of those birds. Our final migrant of the season was an immature RT. One local TV was seen today and the local RT weren't seen until we were hiking out. As it is the last day of the season it is time to take a look at our final numbers! Total migrants counted this spring: 2259. Lower than last years count (predominantly due to lower RT numbers this year), but still the second highest season count since 2005. OS season count is equal to the highest count on record from 2002. Highest CH count since 2005. Highest SW count on record, 18 birds higher than last years record breaking season. Highest FH count on record (since 1997- 90s data still being entered) by 1 bird. It is worth noting the odd push of FH at the end of our season this year. Highest AK count since 2005. Highest ML count on record. And the star species of the season- the BW! Our season count was almost 3x last years count, and 1.6x more birds than our highest season on record. These birds showed out this year and we are really looking forward to see what the coming years bring for this species. Non-raptor Observations: Passerines seemed to have settled into the ridge overnight following a whole bunch of moths! YRWA, CHSP, BHGB, GTTO, SPTO, BRSP, VESP, DEJU, BTHU, ROWR, AMRO, SCJA, BBMA, ROPI, and CORA were all highly active today giving us great looks at many of these birds. ======================================================================== 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/010101881d14a81f-c3491e10-e376-42d6-be1a-7820a815a629-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
