Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 13, 2013 | |||
| 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 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 28 | 28 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| 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 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 0 | 59 | 59 |
| Observation start time: | 10:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 4 hours |
| Official Counter | Kathanne Lynch |
| Observers: | Tom Ryon |
Visitors:
one couple at 12:00 and one hiker at 14:30
Weather:
10:00 MST 51 deg. F, Wind calm at parking lot then N15mph. Bright sun. 40% cloud cover. Clear overhead with excellent visibility. Hazy/polluted skies North and East. Good-Excellent visibility on flight path to South and West with no haze. 12:00 MST 53 deg. F, Winds calming and shifting to N10mph. 14:00 MST 55 deg. F, Wind NNE10mph from Genesee Weather Station, E10mph from Rooney Rd Weather Station, and felt like NW10mph from RMBO's Hawk Site "perch".
Raptor Observations:
Concluded *no* migrating raptors. All raptors were non-migratory, with three likely being RTHA resident and one being a Prairie Falcon resident. Hourly observations follow: 10:15 - 11:15 MST 2 RTHA (non-migratory) 11:15 - 12:15 MST 0 12:15 - 13:15 MST 2 RTHA (resident?, non-migratory) plus (likely the same) 2 RTHA 25 minutes later 13:15 - 14:15 MST - 1 Buteo sp (rose up 100s of feet far to the East, but glided several miles to *South* then out of view to South) - 1 RTHA (rose in elevation over Mt. Morrison towers, but drifted to *South* out of view). Each of these looked like migrants EXCEPT for the fact they cruised out of view to the South. - 1 Prairie Falcon on southwest side of ridge at 14:15 checked me out after I left the Observation "perch". I first observed it 250 yards down the path. As I scurried down the path I had excellent views of it within 50 feet above the ridge for the next two minutes.
Non-raptor Observations:
(4) Scrub Jay together atop RMBO's Hawk Site "perch". Territorial behavior with calls and chasing. (2) Black-billed Magpie (1) American Crow (1) Corvid (resident) low over Lookout Mountain houses (1) American Robin (2) Bush Tit flying past locally (1) DE Junco flying past locally
Predictions:
EXCELLENT chances for a good (good for mid-March) migration on Thursday. Hopefully 5-plus migrants? Expect 62 degrees, sunny, mostly clear skies, 10mph from SW all day.
Report submitted by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (jeff.birek@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.
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