Wednesday 27 March 2013

[cobirds] HSR: Dinosaur Ridge (19 Mar 2013) 15 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 19, 2013
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture000
Osprey000
Bald Eagle01919
Northern Harrier000
Sharp-shinned Hawk011
Cooper's Hawk011
Northern Goshawk000
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk000
Red-tailed Hawk106464
Rough-legged Hawk133
Swainson's Hawk000
Ferruginous Hawk077
Golden Eagle000
American Kestrel233
Merlin000
Peregrine Falcon000
Prairie Falcon01010
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter233
Unknown Buteo044
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor011
Total:15116116


Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Official CounterPaul Slingsby
Observers: Adam Jack, George Mayfield, Joel Chapa, Joyce Commercon



Visitors:
Jefferson County Parks volunteer trail monitor visited for about 2 hours. He's a friend to HawkWatch from several previous years. He helps spot hawks.

Weather:
Sunny with mild winds and temperature 6 to 16 deg. C. The wind changed from E to W in the afternoon.

Raptor Observations:
Local Red-Tailed Hawks near the south end of Dinosaur Ridge and also near Cabrini Shrine are frequently flying up to make migrating raptors unwelcome to their territory. Local American Kestrels near the south end of Dinosaur Ridge are also defending a territory.

Non-raptor Observations:
On this sunny day we had fewer passerine visitors than in previous weeks. Less singing too. Common Raven 9, White-tailed Swift 2, Black-billed Magpie 2, Mountain Chickadee 1, Bushtit 9, Scrub Jay 2 Townsend's Solitaire 1, Western or Eastern Bluebird 7.


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.



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