Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 15, 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 0 16 16 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0 Cooper's Hawk 0 3 3 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 118 118 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 10 10 Golden Eagle 0 4 4 American Kestrel 0 2 2 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 0 2 2 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: 0 156 156 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 12:45:00 Observation end time: 14:45:00 Total observation time: 2 hours Official Counter: Dustin Kohler Observers: Janet Peters Visitors: We had 3 visitors up on the ridge. Two of which plan on seeing us again on a nicer weathered day. The third had headphones in and was singing at the top of their lungs, and to be honest I'm not sure they knew we were there. See the Next Day Prediction Notes if you plan on visiting tomorrow. Weather: With over 2 feet of snow the last couple of days, we were delayed in coming up to the ridge. The morning off the ridge had amazingly clear skies, but we only got to experience those skies on the ridge for a half hour or so before the clouds came. The clouds dropped and our visibility went to less than a Kilometer, so we left early. Raptor Observations: We had 2 local red-tailed hawks flying low and southwards. This was the only raptor sightings from the ridge today. Kestrels, Red-tailed Hawks, Bald Eagles, and a Cooper's Hawk were seen on the drive from the ridge. These guys might be local or waiting for nice weather to leave town. Non-raptor Observations: We had flickers, Dark-eyed Juncos, Townsend's Solitares, Black-billed Magpies, and a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay flying by us up there. Most of the non-corvids seemed to be heading in a Southern direction. Most of the area had about 2.5 feet of snow, but some drifts were over 4 feet!! Predictions: The weather tomorrow should reach the 40s and should be a great day for migration since a large number of these migrants have been grounded for the last 3 days. If you plan on joining us tomorrow be warned that snow shoes will help climb up, and the conditions might be more wintery than spring. I plan on being up there at normal times, so if you are comfortable with the conditions, then I will see you up there. ======================================================================== 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. 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