Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 27, 2014 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 94 | 97 |
| Osprey | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 2 | 27 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 33 | 38 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 56 | 71 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 112 | 242 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 4 | 11 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 63 | 77 |
| Merlin | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 20 | 22 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 19 | 24 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Total: | 0 | 438 | 670 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 12:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 3.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Bill Wuerthele |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
There were very few hikers/bikers on the trail today, likely because of the chilly, windy weather. There were no visitors to the Hawk Watch site.
Weather:
It was a very windy, overcast day on the Ridge. The wind, out of the northwest, was about 4 bft (12 - 17 mph) at 9:00 am, building to a sustained 6 bft (24 - 30 mph) by mid-morning with frequent gusts to 7 bft (31 - 38 mph). Temperatures held at around 45 F. Although the cloud cover was 100% throughout the observation period, there was no precipitation. Because high winds were expected for the remainder of the afternoon and were apparently limiting raptor movement, I left the site at 12:30 pm. My 3 1/2 hour perch atop the very windy Ridge was made possible by the beneficent summit junipers.
Raptor Observations:
It was a very slow day on the Ridge, with little bird activity of any kind. The sum of the raptor observations consisted of a few brief appearances by several local Red-tailed hawks, several local Turkey Vultures and a local Sharp-shinned Hawk. No migrating raptors were observed.
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Observations. Non-raptor species heard or seen included: Western Meadowlark, Black-billed Magpie, Mourning Dove, Common Raven, Western Scrub-Jay, Broad-tailed Hummingbird and Rock Wren (on the platform).
Predictions:
Looks like another windy 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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