Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 26, 2022 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 1 1 Bald Eagle 0 0 0 Northern Harrier 0 1 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1 Cooper's Hawk 0 2 4 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 1 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 0 6 14 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 4 7 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 5 5 American Kestrel 2 4 6 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 0 0 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: 3 26 43 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 11:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Ajit Antony Observers: Liza Antony, Sammy Korengut Weather: Earth.nullschool.net had predicted light winds from the West while weather.gov had also predicted light winds from the NW>NE by afternoon but when we got to the watch there was a very brisk Level 6 wind coming from the West with dissipated by the end of the hour, after which there was a Level 3 ? ridge lift coming from the East. A sunny cloudless day with temperature 13-21°C humidity 24 – 39%, steady barometric pressure around 29.93 mmHg, excellent visibility at 25 km with some haziness in that some of the birds seem to disappear while we were watching them with binoculars. Raptor Observations: We planned to get to the watch by 7:30 AM MDT but we were so efficient at making our lunch and coffee the night before that we got there at 7 AM - the 1st time I've ever gone to a hawk watch leaving home in the dark and reaching there just after the sun rose above the Green Mountain. The first migrant was a male AK found by Sammy along the trail at 6:30 AM MST (7:30 AM MDT) seen below the ridge. The 1 and only BW was an adult at 8:35 AM which came in from the North, a binocular bird found by scanning, which streamed to the SSE. Liza looked up BW range and found that while they nest in Western Canada they fly through the central flyway more easterly than Colorado, over Kansas and Oklahoma to Texas to Central America - no wonder they are not very common here. The only other migrant was a female AK at 9:03 AM found to the north and flew just west of the watch, a low bird. Non-migrant raptors: 2 adult GE at 9:36 AM seen immediately south of the top of Mount Morrison but flew West and not counted, RT 1, TV 1. Non-raptor Observations: White-throated Swift 1, Townsend's Solitaire 3 even hearing their beautiful songs, Steller's Jay 2, Blue Jay 3, American Crow 1, Common Raven 3, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1, House Finch 1, American Robin 2, Black-billed Magpie 1, Canada Goose 1, Mountain Chickadee 2, Black-capped Chickadee 2. 3 hot air balloons to the NE and one to the SE which didn't lift very high at all. 1 hang glider to the NNW. ======================================================================== 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 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 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/010101837bf640d2-220a5a27-99ab-4931-aa79-02d09bfcfaf4-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.
