Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 19, 2013 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 9 | 111 | 120 |
| Osprey | 0 | 13 | 14 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 2 | 29 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 4 | 47 | 55 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 6 | 57 | 68 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 60 | 194 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 61 | 83 |
| Merlin | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 14 | 18 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 20 | 29 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| Total: | 22 | 416 | 677 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6 hours |
| Official Counter | Cynthia Madsen |
| Observers: | Dave Hill, Janet Shin, Jim Schmoker, Tom Dennahey |
Visitors:
Observers today were Cynthia Madsen, Dave Hill, Janet Shin, Jim Schmoker, and Tom Dennehy. Tom, a falconer who lives in Pine Junction, was one of the original Dinosaur Ridge hawk watchers back in 1992. He even helped with the construction of the site. He worked with Jerry Liguori, Tony Leukering, and Brian Sullivan counting hawks on Dinosaur Ridge. He told us that on an Easter Sunday in the mid 1990s, they counted 440 American Kestrels flying by the ridge on one day! I'm not sure we will see those numbers again!
Weather:
This did not prove to be the warm day we were hoping for. Although the day began with a temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the cloud cover and northerly winds of 9 - 13 mph that persisted until 1:00 MST made it feel quite cold. We did have a few rays of sunshine in the 2:00 hour.
Raptor Observations:
We had 22 migrating raptors today: 9 Turkey Vultures, 4 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 6 Cooper's Hawks, 2 Broad-winged Hawks, and 1 Red-tailed Hawk. Most were close to the ridge on both sides and above. As the day progressed we saw more over the west ridge. Our local raptors included 5 Turkey Vultures, 1 Northern Harrier which was heading west over the West Ridge, 4 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 American Kestrel, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Cooper's Hawk, 1 Prairie Falcon, 1 Peregrine Falcon, and one Golden Eagle that we saw twice, once north of Green Mountain and then over I70.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other birds seen or heard today were White-throated Swift (13), Northern Flicker (2), Western scrub-Jay (8), Black-billed Magpie (2), American Crow (6), Common Raven (2), Black-capped Chickadee (1), Mountain Chickadee (1), Bushtit (10), White-breasted Nuthatch (1), Townsend's Solitaire (3), American Robin (12), and Western Meadowlark (1). There were 62 elk on the west ridge and 4 mule deer on the east side of the ridge.
Predictions:
Maybe the number of migrants will increase tomorrow. Be careful on the trail. It was treacherous going up and not much fun coming down. I'm afraid the trail will get worse before it gets better.
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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