Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 23, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 11 | 23 | 40 |
| Observation start time: | 07:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: | Liza Antony, Sammy Korengut |
Weather:
Cloudless, excellent visibility, temperature 16-21°C, humidity around 30%, steady barometer at 29.92. Earth.nullschool.net suggested light to moderate winds while weather.gov predicted initially SW followed by very strong NW winds up to 21 mph. By 8 AM EST there were ferocious gusts of wind up to Level 7 (difficulty walking against the wind) which remained for most of the day except for the last hour. We had to weight our scopes down with our backpacks to prevent them from toppling over.
Raptor Observations:
With the strong West winds I was hoping that if there were any hawks migrating over or West of the Front Range they may be pushed in the direction of the watch. Once the strong winds kicked in Liza commented to Sammy that with the strong winds only big birds (i.e. stronger) would (could) fly today. At the watch we last counted in spring 2022 Hook Mountain New York we often had migrant hawks first seen behind the watch so we kept looking behind us today and that proved fruitful in that 6 of 11 migrants were seen initially behind the watch! On our last count here since most of the hawks migrating were seen in the 1st hour we decided to come up one half hour earlier and at 7:37 AM EST a migrant adult GE soared overhead; then at 8:15 AM an adult in molt with an immature which had small white wing patches with molt of its right primary feathers (therefore a subadult) were seen to the south of the watch â€" they dropped and were not counted, but we kept watching that area in case they rose and eventually they did thanks to Liza's persistence in watching them we were able to count them as migrants as they flew south at 8:38 AM and higher; at 9:35 AM another immature GE â€" a different one as it had larger white wing patches; and at 12:31 PM Pat found us another migrant adult which he pointed out to Liza who identified it to species. At 9:45 AM there was a GE which flew to the SW and was not counted. Non-migrant raptors: TV 1, RT 3.
Non-raptor Observations:
Thanks to Patrick O'Driscoll who found and identified 4 Cassin's Kingbird, 6 Steller's Jay and a Western Wood-Pewee. Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler 1, House Finch 3, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Common Raven 6 together. We were happy to have Sammy Korengut and Pat both of whom had really sharp eyes.
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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