Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 22, 2017 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 9 55 55 Osprey 0 4 4 Bald Eagle 0 4 13 Northern Harrier 0 1 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 31 41 Cooper's Hawk 0 48 53 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 10 10 Red-tailed Hawk 1 68 248 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 2 13 13 Ferruginous Hawk 0 2 7 Golden Eagle 0 0 3 American Kestrel 0 27 39 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 6 Prairie Falcon 0 5 6 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 1 6 10 Unknown Buteo 0 10 25 Unknown Falcon 0 5 8 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 14 21 Total: 17 307 563 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 4 hours Official Counter: Mitchell Blystone Observers: Visitors: Very little! The trail had a couple hikers and bikers but nothing like a typical Saturday. Only two different couples came up to the landing. Weather: The morning started cold and calm with a low ceiling. Throughout the day the wind increased and the temperature rose. Eventually the late afternoon had an equal amount of sunshine to cloud cover. Raptor Observations: An early fly over by 7 Turkey Vultures that were 30-40 feet above the deck was a great way to start the day. Additionally, 6 more TVs came to the platform only to circle and then head to Matthew Winters Park and land along the rocky cliffs. After those sightings the rest seemed to be shot out of a cannon!! The morning was very active and all raptors seemed to be in a great hurry. A couple local Red tails made appearances as well as some Kestrels and the two interacted on a couple occasions. Non-raptor Observations: Ravens and crows played along the eastern ridge for the majority of the day. A couple Scrub Jays, Towhees, Black-capped chickadees, Magpies, White-throated Swifts, and a Rock Wren or two. The early morning had 20+ Elk along the Cabrini Shrine as well. Predictions: Not sure about predictions. I did not observe any active high along the western ridge but rather close to the Dino ridge's near east and west sides. Be on your toes! If they are moving like today they are moving!!! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (jeff.bi...@birdconservancy.org) Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.org/ Site Description: Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawkwatch in Colorado and is the best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Dinosaur Ridge may be the best place in the country to see the rare dark morph of the Broad-winged Hawk (a few are seen each spring). Hawkwatchers who linger long enough may see resident Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks and Prairie Falcons, in addition to migrating Swainson's, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels and Turkey Vultures. Peregrine Falcons and Ferruginous Hawks are uncommon; Northern Goshawk is rare but regular. Non-raptor species include Rock Wren, and sometimes Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane, White-throated Swift, American White Pelican or Dusky Grouse. Birders are always welcome. The hawkwatch is generally staffed by volunteers from Bird Conservancy of the Rockies from about 9 AM to around 3 PM from March 1st to May 7th. 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 small signs from the south side of lot to hawkwatch 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, head through the gate, and walk to the clearly-visible, flat area at the crest of the ridge. -- 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 post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/bfdd50eb78b5f3b68ba751564bb8d8e9%40www.hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
