[cobirds] HSR: Dinosaur Ridge (02 Mar 2013) 1 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 02, 2013
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	0
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	1	4	4
Northern Harrier	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	0	0
Cooper's Hawk	0	0	0
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	0	0	0
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	0
Ferruginous Hawk	0	1	1
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	0
Merlin	0	0	0
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Prairie Falcon	0	0	0
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	0	0
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	0
Total:	1	5	5

Observation start time:	09:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	7 hours
Official Counter	Bill Wuerthele
Observers:	Erik Larsen, Jennifer Clay, Karen Balog

Visitors:
Two hikers stopped by to ask what we were doing. The icy trail conditions seemed to hold down the usual Saturday hiking/biking traffic.

Weather:
A mostly sunny morning gave way to a somewhat cloudy afternoon (cloud cover at 80% by noon, decreasing to 60% in the late afternoon). It was a breezy day on the ridge with a steady northwest and west wind of 4B and 5B (20 - 28 km/hr and 29 - 38 km/hr) throughout the day with gusts to 6B (39 - 49 km/hr). Temperatures ranged from 9.0 - 14.5 C. Temperature and humidity data are from the Weather Underground station at Rooney Road. No BP data are available from that station.

Raptor Observations:
Migrating Raptors: A slow day. One migrating, adult Bald Eagle drifted directly over the observation point and continued north. Non- Migrating Raptors included: Red-tailed Hawks (one pair displaying pair-bonding behavior); a juvenile Golden Eagle (harassed by a pair of local Red-tailed Hawks); an adult Golden Eagle (drifted directly over the observation point on several occasions, providing nice naked-eye views); a Prairie Falcon (also a nice close-in view); and an adult Cooper's Hawk.

Non-raptor Observations:
Non-Raptors included: Black-billed Magpies; Common Ravens; American Crows; Western Scrub-Jays; and Mountain Chickadees.

Predictions:
It is supposed to be breezy again tomorrow. The trail up to the ridge is quite icy in the morning and very muddy in the afternoon.

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Report submitted by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (jeff.birek@rmbo.org)
Dinosaur Ridge information may be found at: http://www.rmbo.org/

Site Description
Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawkwatch in Colorado and is the
best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Dinosaur Ridge may
be the best place in the country to see the rare dark morph of the Broad-winged
Hawk (a few are seen each spring). Hawkwatchers who linger long enough may see
resident Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks and Prairie Falcons, in addition to
migrating Swainson's, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels and
Turkey Vultures. Peregrine Falcons and Ferruginous Hawks are uncommon; Northern
Goshawk is rare but regular. Non-raptor species include Rock Wren, and sometimes
Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane, White-throated Swift, American White
Pelican or Dusky Grouse. Birders are always welcome.
The hawkwatch is generally staffed by volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Bird
Observatory from about 9 AM to around 4 PM from the first week of March to the
first week of 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 small signs from the south
side of lot to hawkwatch 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, head through the gate, and walk to
the clearly-visible, flat area at the crest of the ridge.