Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 27, 2015 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 83 | 83 |
| Osprey | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 33 | 39 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 57 | 60 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 61 | 134 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| American Kestrel | 2 | 84 | 103 |
| Merlin | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 20 | 24 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| Total: | 3 | 397 | 520 |
| Observation start time: | 10:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 4 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
There were no visitors. No one was seen even to pass on Dinosaur Ridge's muddy trail.
Weather:
The watch was started in the late morning; the rain was light and soon stopped altogether. The day was chilly, damp and sunless with 100 percent cloud cover that was low enough to obscure much of Mount Morrison. The very top of WestRidge and the north end of Green Mountain were often blanketed by clouds as well. Visibility was still greater than 10 km in the valleys. The temperature hovered near 7-8 C (44-46 F). Winds were consistently from the north or northeast and increased in strength from beaufort level 1 to level 3 by the afternoon.
Raptor Observations:
It was a slow day, but not an uninteresting one. All three migrants were falcons that passed just to the east of the Ridge at about eye-level. Two female American Kestrels passed by in the late morning; a Prairie Falcon came by in the early afternoon. At one point, two local Peregrine Falcons were seen soaring, circling in the same area north of I70 east of the Ridge. One local Peregrine Falcon zipped past the HawkWatch site a few times, heading north, only to eventually circle back south. A local light-morph Swainson's Hawk was seen heading south and hunting over Rooney Valley. Two local adult Red-tailed Hawks were observed out and about, but in general the local Red-tails were scarce today.
Non-raptor Observations:
Also seen or heard today were Broad-tailed Hummingbird, American Robin, Spotted Towhee, Black-billed Magpie, Western Meadowlark, American Crow, Common Raven, Rock Pigeon, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Rock Wren, Western Scrub-Jay, Mountain Bluebird, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle), Mourning Dove, and Western Bluebird.
Predictions:
Fairer weather, after a number of days of less-than-ideal weather, should hopefully lead to more migrating raptors.
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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