Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 10, 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 | 5 | 5 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 14 | 14 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 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: | 3 | 27 | 27 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6 hours |
| Official Counter | Bill Flowers |
| Observers: | Jim Banks, Joyce Commercon, Pat Conner, Rob Reilly |
Visitors:
Several hikers/runners were seen on the trail with one trail runner staying about 10 minutes. He asked several questions about the raptors that may be seen migrating. We answered his questions and he indicated he would need to get a guide to help him identify them - it turns out he had just moved to Colorado from California and only could reliably identify Golden Eagles from his past experiences.
Weather:
The day was warm for early March ranging from 50-55 F. It was mostly cloudy throughout the day but with the Sun popping out occasionally in the afternoon. The wind was very low, 5 mph at most when gusting. The wind swirled from East to South East to North West.
Raptor Observations:
Only 3 raptors were seen migrating. These were a Bald Eagle, a Rough-legged Hawk, and a Red-tailed Hawk. These all occurred in the afternoon. Near the Cabrini shrine, a couple was flying a large, motorized model plane. The wing shape of the plane was somewhat like a bird's wing which could have confused people or birds. The Bald Eagle we saw migrating actually made 2 circles over the people and plane (plane was flying at the time). From our perspective the Eagle seemed to be less than 50 feet over the people. It seemed the Eagle was inspecting this plane before it continued its journey Northward. We did see some of the resident Red-tailed Hawks and the male American Kestrel.
Non-raptor Observations:
We saw the following non-raptor species: Mountain Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Western Scrub-Jay, Northern Flicker, American Robin, Bushtit, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, and Canada Goose.
Predictions:
Hopefully the migration will improve, but the weather may not cooperate if the weather forecasters are accurate.
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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