Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 20, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 76 83 Osprey 3 17 18 Bald Eagle 0 4 37 Northern Harrier 4 8 11 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 22 34 Cooper's Hawk 1 55 68 Northern Goshawk 0 2 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 11 11 Red-tailed Hawk 5 116 276 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 2 Swainson's Hawk 1 2 2 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 10 Golden Eagle 0 1 13 American Kestrel 0 144 176 Merlin 2 5 6 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 0 7 16 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 19 19 Unknown Buteo 0 10 24 Unknown Falcon 0 11 13 Unknown Eagle 0 1 1 Unknown Raptor 5 9 12 Total: 23 521 836 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Gary Rossmiller Observers: Cynthia Madsen Visitors: We were lucky to have Jim Danzenbaker stop by at 10:30am for a few hours. The extra eyes, expertise and superior equipment made a big difference in hazy conditions. http://www.winterwingsfest.org/bios10/jimdanzenbaker.shtml Weather: Heavy cloud cover most of the day, occasional peak of blue or brightness from the sun. Hazy all day. Top of Mt. Morrison hidden at times. Very chilly (1C-7C) with only moderate breezes most of the day. Barometer dropped slightly. Visibility ranged from 7km in the morning to 29km at the end of the day. Raptor Observations: Flights on both sides of the ridge, low, overhead and over West Ridge. Quite a few locals including a golden eagle being harassed by a RT. Good selection of species today; RT, NH, CH, SS, Swainsons, TV, Merlin and Osprey. The NH were observed by Jim (visitor) with his excellent spotting scope over the West Ridge. Raptors came in groups keeping us busy during those times. After 1pm only locals sighted. Non-raptor Observations: Parked at Rooney Rd lot, walked up Zorro trail. Saw the local TV and CH during the hike. Interesting views but a longer hike. Rock Wren was back again, Mtn Bluebirds, large flocks of Swifts and Magpies,Townsend Solitaire. Jim noted some Horned Larks. 2 large military convoys with heavy equipment on C-470. ======================================================================== 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.
