[cobirds] HSR: Dinosaur Ridge (09 Mar 2014) 9 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 09, 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	1	4	4
Northern Harrier	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	1	1
Cooper's Hawk	1	1	1
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	5	13	13
Rough-legged Hawk	0	2	2
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	0
Ferruginous Hawk	0	2	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	1	1	1
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:	9	24	24

Observation start time:	09:00:00
Observation end time:	15:30:00
Total observation time:	6.5 hours
Official Counter	Bill Wuerthele
Observers:	Francis Commercon, Jennifer Clay, Karen Fernandez, Lee Farrell, Mike Fernandez

Visitors:
A warm weekend day brought a lot of hikers/joggers/bikers to the trail. A few stopped by to talk and ask questions.

Weather:
A warm, mostly sunny day with a high temperature of 70 F. Light westerly winds in the morning shifted to northwesterly at mid-morning and picked up considerably, with a constant 15 to 20 mph "breeze" throughout the remainder of the observation period. Scattered cirrus clouds drifted in and out, with cloud cover ranging from 10% to 50%.

Raptor Observations:
Migrating Raptors: A total of nine migrating raptors of five species were seen - Five Red-tailed Hawks, a Cooper's Hawk, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a Bald Eagle, and an American Kestrel. Nice variety, but few individuals. Non-migrating Raptors: There were numerous sightings of local Red-tailed Hawks, with one pair displaying courtship behavior. A local Prairie Falcon made a brief appearance high above the Ridge.

Non-raptor Observations:
Non-Raptor Observations included the following species: Mountain Chickadee, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Western Scrub-Jay, Northern Flicker, American Robin, Bushtit, and Mountain Bluebird (small flock). Approximately 50 Elk were seen near the Cabrini Monument, and 3 Mule Deer were seen to the east of the Ridge.

Predictions:
Hopefully, the third warm day in a row will bring some raptor movement.

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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.