[cobirds] HSR: Dinosaur Ridge (24 Apr 2013) 33 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 24, 2013
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	10	135	144
Osprey	3	20	21
Bald Eagle	0	2	29
Northern Harrier	0	4	5
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	70	78
Cooper's Hawk	3	75	86
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	8	16	16
Red-tailed Hawk	2	79	213
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	6
Swainson's Hawk	0	4	4
Ferruginous Hawk	0	1	9
Golden Eagle	0	5	8
American Kestrel	2	68	90
Merlin	0	3	3
Peregrine Falcon	2	12	13
Prairie Falcon	0	3	17
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	25	29
Unknown Buteo	0	21	30
Unknown Falcon	1	5	5
Unknown Eagle	0	1	1
Unknown Raptor	0	9	12
Total:	33	558	819

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	15:00:00
Total observation time:	7 hours
Official Counter	Roger Rouch
Observers:	Bill Wuerthele, Julia Auckland

Visitors:
Dave and Sue, a mother and son team from Florida helped spot for a couple of hours. They had researched the site before coming to Colorado and had contacted Jeff at RMBO for details and directions as part of their trip plans. Amy stopped with guide books and binoculars for a short while.

Weather:
A snow covered landscape melted away under springtime temperatures. Partly cloudy with shifting light winds from virtually all directions but mostly from the E and averaging 2 Bft. Temperatures rose from 2.8 C in the morning to 9.4 C by days end.

Raptor Observations:
An entertaining variety of migrating raptors highlighted by eight Broad-winged Hawks mostly right over the ridge at various heights. Few high flying raptors and many sighted below ridge line to both the east and west. A few Red-tailed Hawks appeared far to the south and passed the observation site only to turn south again as local behavior. Local raptors were Red-tailed Hawks, Prairie Falcon, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, and Turkey Vulture.

Non-raptor Observations:
Seen or heard were Western Meadowlark, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Common Raven, American Crow. Black-billed Magpie, Townsend's Solitaire, Bushtit, Western Scrub-jay, Northern Flicker, and American Robin.

Predictions:
Possibly similar? The trail remains quite muddy but could dry quickly with more warm weather tomorrow.

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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.