Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 06, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 4 9 9 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 35 35 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 1 3 3 American Kestrel 0 2 2 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 0 0 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: 6 50 50 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:30:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Dustin Kohler Observers: Bill Young, Charlie Wall, Lori Morton, Steve Ryder Visitors: We had 21 visitors to the ridge today. We had a couple of new observers to the ridge today, Charlie Wall and Lori Morton, and a couple of regulars, Steve Ryder and Bill Young. Weather: It was a beautiful day on the ridge, but cooled off as the cloud cover increased. Visibility was great, but the maximum distance we could see was slightly hazy. Raptor Observations: A migrating Bald Eagle and a Golden Eagle followed the exact same flight path, but a few hundred yards apart from each other. In local news, we saw two Red-tailed hawks perform what I believe to have been courtship flights. A visitor also showed a picture of a Ferruginous hawk that he saw on Green Mountain yesterday. Non-raptor Observations: Down at the Western Valley floor, we saw a flock of 19 black-billed magpies. We also saw a herd of 68 elk on the bare slope to the west. Predictions: Tomorrow looks to be full of precipitation changing from snow to rain to snow again. There is a Northern Wind for most of the day. A Shortened or Canceled survey is likely, but final decisions will be made in the morning. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Janet Peters (j.f.peter...@gmail.com) 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. American 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 10th, 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 * 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/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. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/0101018e168c2d11-eed7c47c-bdc7-43d9-ae09-56d32e4f47aa-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
