Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 10, 2022 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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 3 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 23 23 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 1 9 9 American Kestrel 0 1 1 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 1 1 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 3 3 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 2 49 49 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:30:00 Observation end time: 14:45:00 Total observation time: 5.25 hours Official Counter: Emma Riley Observers: Visitors: One brief visitor wished me well in the morning. Dave and Mariane Erickson came up for their volunteer afternoon shift at 1300, so it was great to have help and company for the afternoon. Weather: Today was cold and cloudy for the most part, with the sun peeking out for about 45 minutes at 1200. Winds were light all day, starting from the north and shifting east as the day went on. Flurries were present briefly at 1040 and picked up again at 1415. Heavy clouds and snow were seen over Mt Morrison at 1430, so we stopped counting at 1445 and headed down the ridge. Raptor Observations: Local activity picked back up today after the storm yesterday, with three resident RT, one BE, and three GE seen. The regular RT pair was seen mostly below the ridge on the east, actively hunting the grass patches south of the dirt bike tracks. This pair was seen copulating for the first (recorded) time today. The highlight of the day was a migrating adult Harlans RT that was escorted out of the area by the local RT pair. An adult GE was also seen migrating today. Non-raptor Observations: Mostly corvids were seen out today, with 6 Common Ravens and 5 American Crows seen. One of the normal Townsend's Solitaires spent some time on the ridge with me in the morning, along with two Black-billed Magpies and one Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay. Predictions: Sunny and still cold, but we have finally reached an upward trend in temperatures after this cold bout. Winds expected to be from the west and northwest. ======================================================================== 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 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 of any skill level are always welcome. HawkWatch at Dinosaur Ridge is generally staffed by volunteers 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 southwest end of lot to the 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. (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/0101017f76cb6f82-e657132c-2efe-4815-9036-d8b889487a1f-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
