[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (21 Apr 2017) 17 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 21, 2017
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	7	46	46
Osprey	0	4	4
Bald Eagle	0	4	13
Northern Harrier	0	1	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	27	37
Cooper's Hawk	0	48	53
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	2	10	10
Red-tailed Hawk	3	67	247
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	11	11
Ferruginous Hawk	0	2	7
Golden Eagle	0	0	3
American Kestrel	0	27	39
Merlin	0	0	0
Peregrine Falcon	0	4	6
Prairie Falcon	0	5	6
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	5	9
Unknown Buteo	0	10	25
Unknown Falcon	0	5	8
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	3	14	21
Total:	17	290	546

Observation start time:	09:00:00
Observation end time:	13:00:00
Total observation time:	4 hours
Official Counter	Debbie James
Observers:

Visitors:
Only a few hikers because the weather was soooo cold. Two sets of people with dogs stopped at station, but moved on quickly.

Weather:
Arrived at station with top of Mt. Morrison enshrouded in clouds. High humidity, high winds and low temps made it a brisk, cold day on the Ridge. The previous night's rains made for wet trail and fragrant walk through alpines. Most of the time it was nearly completely overcast skies. Got rained off the mountain at 1300 MST, cloud ceiling was again about 1/3 down Mt. Morrison, with dark clouds boiling over the Ridge, and rain falling from Golden down to Red Rocks.

Raptor Observations:
Local raptors observed were: 5 Red Tail Hawks--two towards Mother Cabrini, and 3 others present all day on each side of Ridge; 5 Turkey Vultures were observed all day, mostly directly above Ridge, then would travel north before coming back south; and 2 Prairie Falcon on west side of Ridge. Most migrating raptors and TV's were on east side of Ridge or directly above. Saw some afternoon activity of local Red Tail Hawks on north side slope of Mt. Morrison.

Non-raptor Observations:
One rabbit at Matthews Winters Park. Other birds seen or heard were NUMEROUS! 4 Bushtit; 2 Western Bluebirds; 4 Black-billed Magpie; 4 American Robin; 5 Western Meadowlark; 1 Northern Flicker; 1 Spotted Towhee; 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch; 7 Canada Geese (migrating north); 3 Common Raven; 2 Violet Green Swallow; 2 Black-capped Chickadee; 2 Woodhouse's Scrub Jay; 1 Rock Wren; 20 Rock Pidgeon; 15 White-throated Swifts.

Predictions:
Looks like it will be warmer tomorrow, with only 20% chance of rain.

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Report submitted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (jeff.birek@birdconservancy.org)
Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.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 Bird Conservancy of the
Rockies from about 9 AM to around 3 PM from March 1st to May 7th.

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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