Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 22, 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 11 100 101 Osprey 1 11 12 Bald Eagle 0 2 8 Northern Harrier 0 4 4 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 15 18 Cooper's Hawk 2 51 59 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 7 7 Red-tailed Hawk 3 70 221 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 2 Swainson's Hawk 6 8 9 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 2 Golden Eagle 0 3 10 American Kestrel 1 69 89 Merlin 0 2 4 Peregrine Falcon 0 5 8 Prairie Falcon 0 3 9 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 5 28 32 Unknown Buteo 2 13 21 Unknown Falcon 1 5 6 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 2 6 10 Total: 34 404 634 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 14:15:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Joyce Commercon Observers: Francis Commercon, Joe Lupfer, Karen Clark Visitors: We had a some visitors who were very, very helpful today, considering the flat blue sky and the early onslaught of migrants. Gail Ferris and Jamie and Eleanor Fader stayed for about an hour to help HawkWatch, something they do every year. Gail is a volunteer with Wild Bird Information and Rehabilitation of Denver (Wild B.I.R.D.), a local non-profit that cares for sick, injured and orphaned birds. (For more info, go to www.wildbirdrehab.com). Frank and his son, Sean, also arrived in the morning and stayed to help for a few hours. Frank is an avid birder who has helped in the past. As usual, many hikers came by to take in the view. One family stayed for a little while to learn about HawkWatch and raptors, especially Swainson's Hawks. Weather: The day started already warm at 15 C and warmed up to 21 C by afternoon. It was sunny with a flat blue expanse of sky edged with a few clouds along the South and West horizons. Cloud cover increased along the horizons as the day progressed but did not exceed 25% by mid-afternoon. Winds were light and breezy from the East. Raptor Observations: Most migrants came through early. There were 26 counted from 8:15 am to 10:00 am MST. They seemed to come in waves; it was exhilarating but tiring. Two-thirds of the day's migrants were to the West of the Ridge, while the rest passed overtop of the Ridge. A local immature Bald Eagle was spotted circling South on the Ridge; it then flew South. The local male American Kestrel hunted on the East side of the Ridge. A local Swainson's Hawk was seen heading Southeast down Rooney Valley. The local Turkey Vultures meandered back and forth South of the Ridge and also behind Mt. Morrison and back and forth over WestRidge in the afternoon. Non-raptor Observations: In the morning, nine American White Pelicans were spotted Southeast of the HawkWatch site. They progressed West, then turned to head North. In the afternoon, about forty Sandhill Cranes were spotted West of WestRidge, heading Northwest. Other birds seen or heard included Western Meadowlark, Spotted Towhee, Black-capped Chickadee, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, White-throated Swift, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Rough-winged Swallow and American Robin. There were plenty of butterflies and dragonflies; between 1:00-2:00 pm MST, over twenty northward-flying dragonflies were spotted. Perhaps due to the good weather, there were at least five paragliders spotted in the area. There were also a large number of small personal planes out and about. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (jeff.bi...@rmbo.org) Dinosaur Ridge information may be found at: http://www.rmbo.org/ 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 are always welcome. The hawkwatch is generally staffed by volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory from about 9 AM to around 4 PM from the first week of March to the first week of May. 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 south side of lot to 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. -- 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. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
