Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 08, 2014 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 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 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 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: | 11 | 15 | 15 |
| Observation start time: | 09:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Lee Farrell |
| Observers: | Bob Holmes, Jeanette Strom, Linda Farrell, Mitchell Blystone |
Visitors:
Foot traffic on the trails was seemingly lighter than usual today with only a few individuals walking up to the station, none of which seemed to be bird enthusiasts.
Weather:
A beautiful bright sunny day, with few clouds and almost no wind, it doesn’t get any nicer than this on ridge in March. Very light breezes were out of the north in the early morning, switching around to the east and southeast before 11:00 AM. Temperatures remained in the low 40’s (F) throughout the day. Last night’s snowstorm had left several inches of snow covering the ground and hanging in the trees creating a pleasantly picturesque hike up the hill in the morning. The snow melted throughout the day, but still covered the ground at day’s end.
Raptor Observations:
With 11 migrating raptors observed a good count for this early in the season. Migrating birds seemed to have difficulty finding good thermals on which to gain attitude. Perhaps the snow covered ground limited thermal activity. Several hawks were seen traveling low along the east side of the ridge. Initially we questioned whether they were migrating. It appeared that the light breeze pushing up against the ridge was providing just enough lift at that elevation to allow them to glide northward. There was very little activity at the west side of the ridge, and virtually no birds were seen at the far west ridge. All of the migrating birds moved directly and purposely north, local hawks were comparatively easy to discern. Two adult Bald Eagles were observed about a half hour apart. Both of them circled well south of the ridge attempting to gain altitude with much wing flapping. Achieving an altitude slightly above that of the station, they then flew directly north, almost continuously flapping their wings to move forward. At least 6 different local Red-tailed Hawks were observed throughout the day, with coming and going, it was hard to differentiate exactly how many different birds there may have been. Early in the morning two Red-tails sat side-by-side on the cross bar of a wooden transmission line tower at Matthews/Winters open space. Just prior to 3:00 PM we were treated to a wonderful mating display directly above the station by two very similar looking light/intermediate Red-tailed Hawks. The local male American kestrel hunted from perch on the power lines at the west side of the ridge.
Non-raptor Observations:
Also observed, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, Townsend’s Solitaire, Black-capped Chickadee, Black-billed Magpie, House Finch and a single Western Scrub Jay. In the early part of the day, a small herd of Mule Deer passed the station low on the east slope of the ridge
Predictions:
Another slightly warmer sunny day with light winds is predicted. It will be interesting to see if better thermals and slightly more wind will provide even better migration numbers than today. The lower half of the trail is at maximum muddy, the upper half is wet but much more manageable.
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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