Golden, Greater Denver, Colorado, USA
This is a new raptor migration site identified and designated in mid-September 2024. This is Colorado's 1st fall hawk watch site, and the second hawk watch in Colorado. To get to the site which is along Lookout Mountain Rd. in Golden, enter either Windy Saddle Park or Mount Zion into Google Maps on your favorite navigation app, or enter the coordinates 39.7368,-105.2454. From the parking lot ascend the stone steps to the watch site. EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO THE HAWK WATCH TO ENJOY THE SPECTACLE OF RAPTOR MIGRATION, EVEN IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IDENTIFYING RAPTORS IN FLIGHT. We will help you to learn Raptor ID. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk
| Daily Raptor Counts: Aug 07, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 13 | 13 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 4 | 17 | 17 |
| Observation start time: | 09:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 12:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 3 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: | Liza Antony |
Visitors:
A couple from DC visiting theeir son in Denver were curious about what I was doing with my binoculars in scope, which I explained.
Weather:
Earth.nullschool.net showed sinuous streams of wind coming down from Canada through the area of this watch, which would be good, if raptors were migrating, creating a good channel Southward. At the watch the winds were from the ENE caused by local factors which usually result in winds every afternoon from the East, viz. Plains Heating: Intense daytime sun rapidly bakes the Denver metro area and the lower Golden-area terrain, making the air warm, light, and buoyant. Anabatic Upslope Flow: As that warm air rises over the lower landscape, it creates a localized vacuum effect, drawing air from the east (Denver/plains) upslope toward the mountain crests. Ridge Lift Interaction: The steep topography of Mount Zion and Lookout Mountain acts as a ramp, enhancing this upslope pull by afternoon and overpowering lighter synoptic morning wind patterns. The smoke from wildfires was minimally less than 2 days ago but high enough that there was a 10� layer of white smoke above the ground almost blotting out Denver downtown. Address relatively cool in the'80s and '90s because of the microscopic particular pattern the smoke dissipating the Rays of the sun from hitting the ground.
Raptor Observations:
Migrant Raptors: 2 Redtails, a CH and an AK (the AK took a swipe at the CH in flight) today that I could find. Non-migrant raptors sightings: a Prairie Falcon missing its central retrices, seen to the NW at the level of the ridges flew south, dropped into the trees on the North face of Lookout Mountain. RT 3. TV 4. I wondered whether there was any information available weather raptors or other birds would migrate through smoke. I looked it up and found that they may sit it out, fly through the foothills where there may be less smoke which they were not doing here, or fly above the smoke up to 12,000 ft. Looking at the Soaring Forecast of the NWS https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&product=SRG&issuedby=BOU, since the trigger temperature of 89.1 F/31.7 C was reached by 12:00 p.m. MST, the Thermal Soaring Index was Excellent, the Maximum rate of Lift would be 1484 ft/min (7.5 m/s), and the Maximum height of thermals would be 20479 ft MSL (15114 ft AGL). Smoke would increase raptors' oxygen requirements in flight and damage their delicate lung sacs preventing long distance flying. GPS-tracked migrating flocks deviate hundreds of miles off course or circle back to steer clear of thick particulate matter. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9286671/; https://naturecanada.ca/news/blog/when-the-sky-turns-gray-what-smoke-means-for-birds/; https://www.audubon.org/news/new-study-first-explore-how-wildfire-smoke-derails-bird-migration.
Non-raptor Observations:
As we drove towards the watch at 10:00 a.m. DST we saw two paragliders at ridge top level, we could see the same two at 11:19 a.m. 200 ft above the mountains to the north and by 12:20 p.m.they were back around the watch. Other paragliders initially had difficulty getting any lift. I could see one going in a circle within a thermal but not gaining much height, eventually managed to go up a few hundred feet above the watch level. CORA 4, WTSW 1, VGSW 1, WBNU 1.
Predictions:
Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 100, which could mean less smoke. West wind 7 to 9 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.
Report submitted by Ajit Antony (aiantony@earthlink.net)
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