Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 16, 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 14 14 Northern Harrier 0 1 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 4 4 Cooper's Hawk 0 2 2 Northern Goshawk 0 3 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 101 101 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 22 23 Golden Eagle 0 22 22 American Kestrel 1 8 8 Merlin 0 3 3 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 0 3 3 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 2 Total: 1 188 189 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 11:30:00 Total observation time: 3 hours Official Counter: Emma Riley Observers: Gary Rossmiller, Janet Peters, Natalie Uschner-Arroyo Visitors: Thank you to Janet Peters, Gary Rossmiller, and Natalie Uschner-Arroyo for sticking out the chilly and snowy conditions this morning. We saw two visitors at the count today first thing in the morning. Weather: Snow was falling all morning despite the weather predictions, with visibility being less than 4 km at times. Winds started out coming from the NE, shifting E and then S as we left. Our count was ended early due to low visibility at 1130 MST. Raptor Observations: As expected with the weather we did not have much of a migration. During the 1000 MST hour we spotted a male AMKE flying low in the west valley, then coming up to the Dakota Hogback and continuing its flight. We did not see any local raptors today. Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptor activity was low today with no corvids being seen, which is quite unusual for our site. We did have 8 migrating AMRO, one TOSO, and a great sighting of 36 CEWA that passed directly next to us on the ridge heading south. The CEWA were our first of the season at the ridge, and a nice rarity for us. Predictions: Tomorrow should be snow free with sunny and slightly warmer conditions. Winds are predicted to be variable but generally from the N tomorrow. We’re hoping for a nice post-storm push despite the potentially undesirable winds. ======================================================================== 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. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/01010186ec95e567-e103c06a-5ff6-4f88-9da6-f2cf34f88273-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
