[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (13 Apr 2024) 71 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 13, 2024
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	10	170	200
Osprey	3	15	21
Bald Eagle	0	6	36
Northern Harrier	0	5	10
Sharp-shinned Hawk	5	23	39
Cooper's Hawk	10	69	90
American Goshawk	0	3	4
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	1	1
Red-tailed Hawk	6	94	355
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	2	6	6
Ferruginous Hawk	0	3	15
Golden Eagle	0	4	15
American Kestrel	33	183	205
Merlin	2	10	14
Peregrine Falcon	0	3	5
Prairie Falcon	0	1	4
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	6	7
Unknown Buteo	0	0	0
Unknown Falcon	0	2	3
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	2	2
Total:	71	606	1032

Observation start time:	08:30:00
Observation end time:	17:00:00
Total observation time:	8.5 hours
Official Counter	Dustin Kohler
Observers:	Ajit Antony, Boulder Group, DFO Field trip, Liza Antony, Lori Morton, Shelley Conger, Zach Haag

Visitors:
We had 58 visitors to the ridge today including John Dwyer a member of DFO who hasn't been to the ridge in many years. We also had a group from Boulder led by Tim Meehan. The other members of this group were Roger Fong, Tori Bovish, and Josh Tacey. There was also a mother-daughter group of Linda Farrell and Reese Erwin who visited the same amount of time as the Boulder Group. Ajit and his wife Liza led a DFO group up as well to help us out. I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to write all of their names down, but there were 16 observers to start the day today.

Weather:
Today was partly cloudy all day today with more clouds in the afternoon. The wind was gusty turning from a NW headwind to a SE tailwind.

Raptor Observations:
Before we arrived at the ridge there was the Boulder group already up there and they had a list of birds they have seen: 3 sharp-shinned, 4 Turkey Vulture, 4 Osprey, 10 Kestrel, 7 Red-tailed, 1 Swainson's, 3 Cooper's, an unknown accipiter, and an unknown raptor. Most of these birds probably migrated, but I don't think they all did, especially the red-tailed since they have less experience with our local red-tails. For the most part our raptors were high and to the west, but in classic dinosaur ridge fashion there were still plenty to the east as well. Two of our adult male kestrels were holding mice as they were migrating overhead. One of our osprey's had a fish. One of our migrating Merlin, with uniform wings and a white chest, was very far away and attacked a migrating kestrel. We had a local Cooper's, Kestrel, a merlin (attacking a turkey vulture), one adult Bald Eagle, and one juvenile Bald Eagle in addition to our usual casts of Red-tails. We had two red-tailed hawks grasp talons and free fall for several hundred feet before releasing. One of the two got immediately chased by another red-tail and was chased to another red-tail. It seemed like the spiraling two red-tails were not a pair, and each of their mates were nearby.

Non-raptor Observations:
Lots of White-throated Swifts today flying high, there was a group of around 30. We also saw a few swallows, a double-crested cormorant, some elk, a balloon, and a few leaves high in the sky.

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks to be a warm day with wind coming from the South. In a not very cloudy sky, our migrants should be very high up. It is another chance to bring your neck pillow and spot very high-up dots in the sky, but hey, it beats working in an office.

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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]

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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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