Tuesday 30 April 2024

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (30 Apr 2024) 54 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 30, 2024
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture19315345
Osprey04450
Bald Eagle11545
Northern Harrier21823
Sharp-shinned Hawk28399
Cooper's Hawk3175196
American Goshawk089
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk11114114
Red-tailed Hawk4162423
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk24141
Ferruginous Hawk3820
Golden Eagle21122
American Kestrel5411433
Merlin01620
Peregrine Falcon01012
Prairie Falcon036
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter01213
Unknown Buteo044
Unknown Falcon056
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor033
Total:5414581884


Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official CounterAjit Antony
Observers: Chip Dawes, Liza Antony, Rajkumar Manikandan



Visitors:
Mark Kouzmanoff, , Roger Freeman.

Weather:
Pleasant, light winds from the East though late morning the clouds paradoxically were being pushed eastward! In the afternoon there were strong West winds with the clouds moving East.

Raptor Observations:
I filled in as counter today for the official counter who was ill. Most of the migrant raptors today were seen far to the west and high, with a small number overhead â€" either just east or west of the watch. Interestingly 2 GE flew over Green Mountain to the east. Highlights today were 3 dark morph Broad-winged Hawk of a total of 11 seen, 3 Ferruginous Hawk, 2 adult Swainson's Hawk â€" one which was low enough to identify as a female (dark brown bib cf. rufous bib in a male), and a group of 10 TVs migrating together in the 1st hour. Non-migrant raptors: juvenile Golden Eagle, adult GE which landed in a tree on Greene Mountain; a Sharp-shinned Hawk which flew East; an adult male Kestrel feeding on the wing in the morning flying from west to east behind the trees to the south of the watch and could not be found again, as well as well as in the afternoon perched on a wire west of the watch; Red-tailed Hawk 6, 18 TV sightings. Liza and I lead a DFO trip this morning with 5 participants, 1 of whom was Rajkumar Manikandan with his youthful eagle-eyes was helpful in in finding us a number of raptors.

Non-raptor Observations:
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2, Spotted Towhee, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 2, White-throated Swift c. 15, Black-capped Chickadee.

Predictions:
This reminds me after the 1929 stock market crash called something like "What I've learned about the stock market" and it was a blank book! So also my ability to predict at this site.


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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