cobirds colorado rare bird

Thursday, 5 November 2026

[cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (05 Nov 2026) 4 Raptors

Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park
Golden, Greater Denver, Colorado, USA

To see hourly weather data and details of migrant raptors, look up this watch at hawkcount.org. 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 if you are interested. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk

Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 05, 2026
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	270
Osprey	0	1	30
Bald Eagle	1	1	8
Northern Harrier	0	1	30
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	1	52
Cooper's Hawk	1	8	296
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	109
Red-tailed Hawk	1	54	742
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	194
Ferruginous Hawk	0	0	3
Golden Eagle	0	3	35
American Kestrel	1	7	152
Merlin	0	0	7
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Prairie Falcon	0	0	2
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipitrine	0	0	4
Unknown Buteo	0	0	9
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	19
Total:	4	76	1963

Observation start time:	09:15:00
Observation end time:	14:45:00
Total observation time:	5.5 hours
Official Counter	Liza Antony
Observers:

Visitors:
None

Weather:
A cold start for the watch with a starting temperature of 5 C.A Haze was noted over Denver which cleared by 11 AM. Minimal clouds present with none over Lookout Mtn.

Raptor Observations:
The first raptor was a CH noted only by 11:16 AM. The bird was seen through the eastern most antenna of Lookout Mtn. Only 4 migrant raptors seen. Non migrant raptors: RT 3

Non-raptor Observations:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S408268922 As I was hiking up to the watch I saw 3 CASSIN'S FINCH and I thought they would be highlight of the day for me, but I was mistaken. Shortly after the start of the watch I heard the distinctive call of a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL. I followed the sound and saw it in a tree 10 feet away. It made my day!!

Predictions:
Mostly cloudy with a high near 56F.Winds from the NE in the afternoon.

Report submitted by Liza Antony (liza.antony15@gmail.com)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

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[cobirds] Fountain Creek Christmas Bird Count December 16th

Hi all,

The Fountain Creek Christmas Bird Count is set for December 16th in Fountain, Colorado.

If you would like to join us, send me a private message so I can start to connect you with sector leaders.

Thanks,

Diana Beatty

El Paso County

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Wednesday, 4 November 2026

[cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (04 Nov 2026) 30 Raptors

Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 04, 2026
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	270
Osprey	0	1	30
Bald Eagle	0	0	7
Northern Harrier	0	1	30
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	1	52
Cooper's Hawk	4	7	295
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	109
Red-tailed Hawk	22	53	741
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	194
Ferruginous Hawk	0	0	3
Golden Eagle	2	3	35
American Kestrel	2	6	151
Merlin	0	0	7
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Prairie Falcon	0	0	2
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipitrine	0	0	4
Unknown Buteo	0	0	9
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	19
Total:	30	72	1959

Observation start time:	09:15:00
Observation end time:	14:00:00
Total observation time:	4.75 hours
Official Counter	Ajit Antony
Observers:	Liza Antony

Visitors:
A couple asked whether we had seen any wildlife. We explained what we were looking for - migrating hawks and eagles, they wanted to know whether we had seen any eagles, and I said a Golden Eagle. Very lovely, was the response. Another regular hiker said Great to see you guys here.

Weather:
Denver was quite hazy and it took until 1:00 p.m. to become clear though DIA was still mildly hazy. Heavily overcast sky with cirrus and cirrosttatus to the East, virga to the SE when we started. Once Denver started getting clearer the brown cloud started widening between North and ENE, later spreading to the SE.

Raptor Observations:
The first migrant was only by 9:52 a.m. and was a CH in the Kestrel Channel. At 11:33 a.m. a juvenile CH just above eye level in the Kestrel Channel turned and soared a scant 20 ft above our heads before going SSW. Exciting and beautiful. Migratory GE at 9:58 a.m. seen to the NW going South, and another at 11:10 a.m. next to the easternmost antenna on Lookout Mountain, both adult. We were entertained by non-migrant GE: 1. At 12:04 p.m. an adult GE was chased by an RT and it dropped somewhere on the south face of Lookout Mountain, at 12:12 it chased a hapless RT with strayed too close, and it then flew low to the north over Golden. At 12:19 p.m. we saw it over North Table Mountain and we could see it was molting a left 6th primary and some secondaries, and it flew North, at 12:28 p.m. we saw it very far to the North. 2. At 12:39 p.m. a different GE (with a different molt pattern with many secondaries shorter) to the North, flew NW - we were able to show it to 2 hikers. 3. At 12:53 p.m. a subadult GE with white at the base of the tail and no white in the wings was seen to the North flying around the stone quarry, it spiraled up in a thermal and flew North. 4. At 1:18 p.m. a first year GE with prominent white at the base of the tail, a carpal bar, no molt, and faint white at the bases of the primaries came from the south and flew North. 5. At 1:50 p.m. an adult GE with a bulging crop seen close to the Eastern end of Lookout Mountain began doing its territorial roller coaster type flight, I knew from experience to look for another raptor in the area, and sure enough it dove on and chased another adult GE, then flying North, 5 minutes later I saw the other one higher in the sky - neither had any evidence molting/ missing feathers. An AK at 1:07 p.m. paused during its migration over Lookout Mountain to dive bomb a perched RT on a high tension pole 4 times, then sat on a wire a short distance away for 2 minutes before continuing south. Other non-migrant hawks: RT 3. Migration started only after the clouds parted and sunshine hit the ground to produce any thermals. In the morning most of the migration was along the gap between Green Mountain and Lookout Mountain presumably because of the poor thermal production as a result of the wet ground from the rain yesterday and the heavily overcast sky, and lack of strong wind to produce ridge lift on Lookout Mountain - we can feel the same wind from the ESE. The Thermal Soaring Index was poor with lift at only 1.5 ft/sec and height of thermals at 3941 ft AGL by 1:45 p.m. - 2,100 ft above the watch, roughly only half a mile above the watch - hawks should be visible to us relatively easily. We had a good last hour with 7 migrants and we would have like to stay longer but we had an appointment at 3:00 p.m. so we left reluctantly. This is the second day after the strong cold front went through with an excellent count for this time of the year at this location, even better than the day before.

Non-raptor Observations:
Two paragliders at 9:19 a.m. had no lift whatsoever. 11 of them after 12:15 p.m. had excellent lift, some going so high as to be barely visible to the naked eye. One paraglider hiked past us, so I asked him the weight of his canopy, and he thought around 20 lb. They do have a span of up to 35 ft.

Predictions:
Sunny, with a high near 57. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the afternoon. The winds aloft are predicted to be light from the South changing to the East.

Report submitted by Ajit Antony (aiantony@earthlink.net)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

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[cobirds] Cherry Creek Res

In the northern part of the south western section of the Res there were 3 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls Bob Righter Denver , CO Sent from my iPhone -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate. * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/A74AF8DD-B16E-4E06-964B-B0670EF5405E%40earthlink.net.

[cobirds] Crested Mallard?

Hello!

I spotted these two ducks about three weeks apart at Lake Milavec in Frederick. I read they could be a domestic-wild hybrid. Any ideas?

The pictures are from my phone so not the best quality.

Thanks!

Kristen Davis

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Tuesday, 3 November 2026

[cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (03 Nov 2026) 21 Raptors

Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 03, 2026
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	270
Osprey	1	1	30
Bald Eagle	0	0	7
Northern Harrier	1	1	30
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	1	52
Cooper's Hawk	1	3	291
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	109
Red-tailed Hawk	13	31	719
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	194
Ferruginous Hawk	0	0	3
Golden Eagle	1	1	33
American Kestrel	3	4	149
Merlin	0	0	7
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Prairie Falcon	0	0	2
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipitrine	0	0	4
Unknown Buteo	0	0	9
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	19
Total:	21	42	1929

Observation start time:	09:15:00
Observation end time:	15:15:00
Total observation time:	5.75 hours
Official Counter	Ajit Antony
Observers:	Liza Antony

Visitors:
A repeat visitor/ hiker to the hawk watch wanted to know how many migrants we had seen. Six. Golden Eagles? he asked for he was the one last week I had shown a GE in my scope to. No, others, below us in the Kestrel Channel. How do you see them against the trees? Their wings shine with the sunlight making them easy to see. I looked it up later and it's oil from the preen glands on their wings which act has microscopic mirrors, and called 'speculum reflection.' Two others us asked whether we were bird watching, and we explained.

Weather:
After the strong cold front had gone through yesterday afternoon, Denver was actually clear and we could see the airport 25 miles away without optical aid. There was lots of new snow on the 14ers. There were excellent cirrus clouds all the way from North to East to South, and since the Thermal Soaring Index was fair with lift at 6 ft/sec, and height of thermals predicted by 11:30 a.m. to be 6583 ft AGL which would take potentially migrating hawks up to 1 mile above the watch, we used the clouds to scan higher especially in the 11:00 are onward when there were fewer migrants seen without avail, scanning up to 4 binocular Fields above Lookout Mountain to the South where hawks would necessarily have to fly, but the few migrants were low over Lookout Mountain as usual.

Raptor Observations:
The first migrant was an SS at 9:37 a.m. MST. At 9:49 a.m. a juvenile calurus/ Western RT flew from over South Table Mountain along the Kestrel Channel, rising to the top of Lookout Mountain and flying west to east along the treetops and it disappeared behind them when we wrote it off as a non-migrant, we then saw it a little higher migrating. At 10:50 a.m. we saw a CORA chase an Osprey (which we heard calling before we even saw it, and after, when we could not see it any more) to the North along the Kestrel Channel. A migrating GE adult at 11:37 a.m. over Lookout Mountain, both it and a local GE were rocking exactly like TVs presumably because of strong winds! We saw an adult male AK at 10:04 a.m., 11:31 a.m., 11:43 a.m. hover hunting in the Kestrel Channel, then thrice dive bombed a perched RT on a low tree. An adult female AK at 12:51 p.m. was chased by a BBMA in the wrong direction along the Kestrel Channel. After the 10:00 hour we had very few hawks and I wondered whether they were already flying too high to see with binoculars, consistent with the Soaring Forecast. We scanned higher against the good cloud cover and could not see a single hawk which made us think - Are they flying too high to be seen even with binoculars? I then thought - If thermals were 5,000 ft above the watch, a mile high, we should be able to see them either with the naked eye or with binoculars against the good cloud cover, since we routinely see and identify hawks as far as over Green Mountain 4 miles away, and routinely over the Table Mountains which are 3 mi away! The other possibility was that they were not flying but this was inexplicable to me with good weather conditions. Liza had the brilliant thought that perhaps the 10 hawks we saw in the first 2 hours were grounded locally by the rain yesterday, and others that were grounded in Northern Colorado and Wyoming 80-100 mi away had not yet reached us. I checked online and that indeed seemed to be the issue - they would fly past us later today or tomorrow, a "migration gap." In fact there were very strong NW winds at Cheyenne WY which would push migrants South to us. Late afternoon we did not see any low migrants, and we haven't any on days we've stayed later. Non-migrant raptors: GE adult 1, RT 2.

Non-raptor Observations:
One paraglider at 10:31 had no lift, as did another one at 12:14 p.m. and surprisingly by 2:15 2 more had no lift and could not even reach them level they took off from.

Predictions:
Could be another good migration day like today. Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. Calm wind becoming east northeast around 6 mph in the morning. The strong NW winds from Wyoming continued aloft all today so any raptors would be pushed South, but East of us, while the NE winds all day tomorrow should push them back toward the watch.

Report submitted by Ajit Antony (aiantony@earthlink.net)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

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Re: [cobirds] Very late migrating Osprey at the Mount Zion Hawk Watch

There has been a young Osprey (not the pair that is nesting on my property) spotted in the Mead/Longmont area as recent as 5 days ago. Last sighting was at the St. Vrain State Park.

Pauli Smith, Weld County, CO

From: cobirds@googlegroups.com <cobirds@googlegroups.com> on behalf of aiantony@earthlink.net <aiantony@earthlink.net>
Sent: Tuesday, November 3, 2026 11:05 AM
To: cobirds@googlegroups.com <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Very late migrating Osprey at the Mount Zion Hawk Watch

Liza and I just saw a Common Raven chase an Osprey well below the Mount Zion Hawk Watch going north along the Kestrel Channel a.k.a. Windy Saddle. The Osprey called before I even saw it, and a few minutes after we had lost sight of it we could hear it again.
Most Osprey. have migrated South a long time ago, though the Merlin bar graph for Golden, Colorado shows it is possible until the third week in November, with the peak numbers in fall being the second week in September and thereafter decreasing with very few after the second week in October.

Ajit Antony

Sent using myEarthLink

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