Wednesday 28 September 2022

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (28 Sep 2022) 6 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 28, 2022
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture000
Osprey011
Bald Eagle000
Northern Harrier011
Sharp-shinned Hawk011
Cooper's Hawk468
Northern Goshawk000
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk011
Red-tailed Hawk0614
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk047
Ferruginous Hawk000
Golden Eagle055
American Kestrel268
Merlin000
Peregrine Falcon011
Prairie Falcon002
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter000
Unknown Buteo000
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor000
Total:63249


Observation start time: 07:45:00
Observation end time: 12:00:00
Total observation time: 4.25 hours
Official CounterAjit Antony
Observers:



Visitors:
Interestingly not a single person hiking the Hogback Trail today, and only saw a young woman hiking up on my way down.

Weather:
earth.nullschool.net showed light winds from the West becoming South and then SE, while weather.gov predicted 3-5 mph winds starting in the West, becoming North and then NE by the afternoon. From the parking lot going up the trail there was a distinct South wind while at the watch the wind started WSW at Level 5, then became east by 9 AM MST, then there was a stronger Level 3 wind from the East with a lighter Level 2 with from the South at the same time! After the 1st hour I could see both above and below the horizon from NE to SE a grayish brown smog.

Raptor Observations:
On days when there was a perfectly blue sky I wondered whether I was missing migrating hawks, and wanted to come on a day with a lot of cloud cover regardless of the wind to see whether I could find more hawks against the clouds. Today I had excellent broad cumulus cloud cover both north, overhead and south of the watch and was able to test my eyesight by looking at very high local RT which I was able to see against clouds as well as backlit against the blue sky with my naked eye (and polarized sunglasses) â€" so I know I'm not missing large numbers of hawks, i.e. the low daily numbers are because they're not flying past the watch. The first migrants were 2 CH at 8:26 AM MST one behind the other at a moderate distance far to the West and very high, at the limit of binocular ID â€" I required my scope to confirm my suspicion that they were accipiters. I put up my Great Horned Owl decoy which has drawn many species of migrants hawks in the East to buzz it, but none of the migrants nor the locals here seemed interested, nor were any of the passerines bothered by it. Non-migrant raptors: TV 1, RT 2.

Non-raptor Observations:
Townsend's Solitaire 2 all morning singing and calling, White-throated Swift 6, House Finch 2, American Robin 1, Black-billed Magpie 1, Black-capped Chickadee 1. 1 hot air balloon to the NE.


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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