Golden, Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: May 02, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 2 | 9 | 171 |
| Osprey | 0 | 2 | 66 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 1 | 28 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 51 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 4 | 199 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 8 | 257 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 14 | 94 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 7 | 469 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| American Kestrel | 4 | 6 | 702 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Zone-tailed Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 9 | 54 | 2176 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Soren Zappia |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
15 visitors, not including one field trip. We had a troop of Girl Scouts visit us this morning! We learned about the local birds, observed bird behavior, and learned about our research and equipment. Thank you to Janet Peters for leading this trip!
Weather:
It was a warm sunny day with a pleasant southeast wind at 1-3 bft. Temperatures ranged from 64-70 F. There were no clouds overhead, although late in the day we had a few clouds to the west.
Raptor Observations:
Today's pace was slower than yesterday, with 9 total birds. A young Cooper's Hawk flew past the ridge close by in the morning, and we saw a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk glide north fairly low overhead, but the remainder of the birds were distant to the west. Many local Turkey Vultures were taking advantage of the sun and we saw multiple small groups roaming about. At one point we had two migrant TVs head directly north. In the afternoon we also had a local Cooper's Hawk land in a tree on the ridge, giving us great views. We also counted our 700th American Kestrel of the season today! They have been our most numerous migrants this season and last year.
Non-raptor Observations:
White-throated Swift 3, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 4, Mourning Dove 2, Downy Woodpecker 1, Say's Phoebe 1, Blue Jay 1, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay 2, Common Raven 2, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Tree Swallow 3, Violet-green Swallow 2, Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1, Barn Swallow 1, Rock Wren 1, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1, House Finch 2, Chipping Sparrow 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Western Meadowlark 2
Predictions:
Tomorrow, mostly cloudy to overcast skies are predicted with temperatures in the mid 60s to low 70s F. Light winds from the SW are expected.
Report submitted by Official Counter of the day shown above (dinoridgehw@gmail.com)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: www.dinosaurridgehawkwatch.org
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org - [Project Details]
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, and American White Pelican. Birders of any skill level are
always welcome. The hawk watch at Dinosaur Ridge is staffed by Hawk Counter(s)
and volunteers from March through early May.
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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