Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: May 03, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 3 | 25 | 370 |
| Osprey | 0 | 2 | 52 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 3 | 48 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 4 | 27 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 5 | 104 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 9 | 22 | 218 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 12 | 21 | 135 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 6 | 23 | 446 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 41 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 1 | 2 | 22 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 1 | 23 |
| American Kestrel | 3 | 48 | 481 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Total: | 37 | 162 | 2046 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Dustin Kohler |
| Observers: | Bill Young, Chris Gearhart, Sammy Korengut , Shannon Campbell, Steve Ryder |
Visitors:
We had 37 visitors to the ridge today including Piper Vance who came up with her family and said "There's one!" She spotted one of our Cooper's Hawks that migrated today.
Weather:
Today was an overall sunny day that got more overcast as the day went on. Warm temperatures and a steady, moderately strong wind were good conditions for our migrants. The wind then began shifting from the west and eventually the north and increased its gusts to over 25 mph consistently which caused us to cut the count short. There was a consistent haze that made distant migrants even harder to find and follow.
Raptor Observations:
The migrants were in all directions but were mostly straight above us and very high. The migrants started low for the first hour but rose higher and higher as the day and the wind increased. Our first three Broadwings left one after the other in a line, but we didn't see the kettle that they left from. A later Broadwing we hear vocalizing at another one above it. We had a Cooper's Hawk aggressively defend itself from a local Red-tail that moved up to escort them north. Another Cooper's Hawk that migrated was missing 2 secondaries on their right wing. A different Cooper's was attacked by a migrating kestrel as it left town. As the wind increased our migrants got even higher up and were traveling a lot faster until the wind switched to the west. We had a kettle of 6 Turkey Vultures that went north for a few miles before turning around and going back south. Much later we also had a Swainson's Hawk go to the South. We had an immature Peregrine Falcon fly south at eye level. One of our other local Falcons was a Merlin that attacked a Red-tail on its way south. We had a Golden Eagle hunting to the west, and a Cooper's Hawk had a talon full of grass, and a mouse, as it flew off towards where its nest is located. During the heavier winds, I heard a squeaking sound. I looked over and saw a mouse screaming in terror as a male Kestrel had caught it and was flying south with it.
Non-raptor Observations:
We had a lot of Broad-tailed Hummingbirds zip past us in the wind, they were more heard than seen. There were also plenty of Swallows and White-throated Swifts playing in the wind as well. However, once the wind got above 20 mph the Swallows and Swifts must have gone to ground because we were not seeing them. We saw another Western Kingbird this morning and some Common Grackles. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers also continue to remind us that they are back in town, challenging the Spotted Towhees and the Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay for the loudest birds at the ridge.
Predictions:
Tomorrow looks to be a moderately warm day with a steady eastern wind. The clouds look to cover more and more of the sky as the day goes on for the third day in a row. There is some rain in the evening that might give our migrants some incentive to leave a little earlier in the day.
Report submitted by Official Counter (j.f.peters58@gmail.com)
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. American 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 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM from March 1st to May 10th,
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 hawk watch signs from the
southwest end of the parking lot to the hawk watch 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, and walk to
the flat area at the crest of the ridge. (Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain:
259 feet)
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