Friday, 7 April 2017

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (07 Apr 2017) 2 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 07, 2017
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture044
Osprey011
Bald Eagle0312
Northern Harrier000
Sharp-shinned Hawk0717
Cooper's Hawk1611
Northern Goshawk000
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk000
Red-tailed Hawk117197
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk000
Ferruginous Hawk005
Golden Eagle003
American Kestrel0820
Merlin000
Peregrine Falcon002
Prairie Falcon001
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter015
Unknown Buteo0116
Unknown Falcon003
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor018
Total:249305


Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Official CounterDebbie James
Observers:



Visitors:
Steady stream of hikers and cyclers. One couple out taking pictures and bird spotting ate their lunch at the station and watched local birds.

Weather:
A balmy day up on the Ridge, with light breezes and a whole day of cloud cover, so it didn't get too hot.

Raptor Observations:
First hour had lots of activity from 5 local red tails, two locked in aerial combat at one point. There was one local Sharp Shinned Hawk flitting around, 3 local kestrels--with a female who perched on a line in the afternoon vocalizing with another kestrel out of the line of sight. I think they got everything settled, because she flew off to the south, and I didn't see her the rest of the day. There was one local Turkey Vulture who kept swooping overhead to see if I'd cough hard enough to do myself in and therefore be some good eating. I was grateful for local birds because it was a slow, slow day otherwise.

Non-raptor Observations:
7 elk on East side of Ridge, grazing their way south. 9 mule deer grazing below Mother Cabrini. 2 Eastern Fence lizards sunning on rocks at the station today. 5 Common Ravens, one missing most of its left tail feathers, 5 black-billed magpie; 1 Northern Flicker; 4 Meadowlark; 5 Bushtit; 4 Mountain Chickadee; 2 Scrub Jay; 1 Townsend's Solitaire; 1 White Throated Swift.

Predictions:
It looks like exactly the same weather tomorrow. The trail is in good shape, except for the switchback turn, which is still muddy. I pose a question: Since Spring was so early this year, is migration just about over?


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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