Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 10, 2023 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 5 5 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1 Cooper's Hawk 0 1 1 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 4 31 31 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 1 10 11 Golden Eagle 0 6 6 American Kestrel 0 0 0 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 3 3 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 5 60 61 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 5.5 hours Official Counter: Emma Riley Observers: Amy Walsh, Chris Gearheart, Dave Hill Visitors: Big thanks to Dave Hill, Amy Walsh, and Chris Gearheart for helping spot and observe birds today! Today we saw 19 visitors at the site, including a group from Ohio that had many questions about our work. One group of visitors stopped by twice during their hike along the Dakota Ridge Trail with more questions for us. Weather: This morning started out sunny with a very thick haze both over Denver and in the western valley. Clouds moved in late morning but temperatures were still warm for most of the day. Winds picked up in the afternoon, eventually reaching speeds of 24+ mph so we ended the day a little early. Raptor Observations: We had a slow day of migration but counted another FH today, our 11th for the season. Many of our migrants flew below horizon giving us a nice challenge. Overall we counted 5 birds, all RT except for the distant FH over the west ridge. Local raptor activity kept us busy with 3 BE, 2 GE, and 3 RT seen multiple times throughout the day, a few of them coming incredibly close to the ridge. Non-raptor Observations: Passerine activity was lower than it has been recently with CORA (6), AMCR (3), TOSO (3), AMRO (2), and SCJA (2) seen today. However, we were kept busy with local raptors so we surely could have missed other birds. Predictions: Tomorrows weather should bring a nice day for hawkwatching, with a little bit cooler temperature than today and partly cloudy skies. Winds are predicted to come from the east, with some moderately gusty conditions mid-day. We may get a nice flight! ======================================================================== 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. 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