Monday 19 September 2022

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (19 Sep 2022) 7 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 19, 2022
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture000
Osprey111
Bald Eagle000
Northern Harrier000
Sharp-shinned Hawk111
Cooper's Hawk013
Northern Goshawk000
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk000
Red-tailed Hawk0311
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk347
Ferruginous Hawk000
Golden Eagle000
American Kestrel224
Merlin000
Peregrine Falcon000
Prairie Falcon002
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter000
Unknown Buteo000
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor000
Total:71229


Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 11:30:00
Total observation time: 3.5 hours
Official CounterAjit Antony
Observers: Liza Antony


Weather:
Cool and pleasant when we started, getting hot later. Earth.nullschool.net predicted light SW winds all morning into afternoon, but weather.gov had winds coming from the WSW>SSE>SE by afternoon. At the watch the wind was from the South on the west side of the ridge and by the 1st one half hour there was a ridge lift developing from the East of the ridge starting at Beaufort Level 3 going up to Level 5. Thermal topping clouds were seen by the end of the 1st half hour. On the way down the trail the wind was from the South. There was a brown haze along the NE horizon ?smog which gradually dissipated.

Raptor Observations:
All the raptors found today were found by binocular scanning against a perfectly blue sky. The limited cloud cover unfortunately was along the horizon to the East-SSW. The 1st migrant was an SS seen just south of Green Mountain at 8:41 AM EST. There are some encouraging signs that the migration is picking up with increasing cold weather. Non-migrant raptors: an adult GE flying North, a pair of GE flew to the West â€" an adult and a juvenile. RT 3, TV 14 rising a little south of Green Mountain.

Non-raptor Observations:
Townsend Solitaire initially heard then seen, Mountain Chickadee 1, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Rock Wren 2, Common Raven groupings with a maximum of 8 at one time, immature Red-headed Woodpecker 1 in flight, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 2, what looked like a very distant kettle of BW was instead a murder of 21 American Crow flying South when looked at through my scope. When we started there were 4 hot air balloons rising to the NE.

Predictions:
There is a prediction for rain tomorrow night through Thursday night with SW winds in the morning on Friday changing to very strong NW winds up to 21 mph. If this forecast holds true Friday could be a good day for migration.


Report submitted by DAVID HILL ()
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: http://www.dfobirds.org
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]




Site Description
Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawk watch in Colorado and is the
best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Hawk watchers may
see 17 species of migrating raptors; and it is an excellent site to see rare
dark morph buteos including Broad-winged hawk, Swainson’s hawk, Ferruginous
hawk, Rough-legged hawk and Red-tailed Hawk. Other raptors we see include Golden
and Bald Eagles, Northern harrier, Osprey, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons,
Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Merlin, and Turkey
Vultures. Northern Goshawk is uncommon but also counted each season. Non-raptor
species include Rock Wren, Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane,
White-throated Swift, American White Pelican, and Dusky Grouse. Birders of any
skill level are always welcome. The hawk watch at Dinosaur Ridge is staffed by a
Hawk Counter and volunteers from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM from March 1st to May 14th,
weather permitting.

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
southwest end of lot to the 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.
(Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain: 259 feet)

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