Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 14, 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 | 8 | 15 | 15 |
| 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 | 6 | 23 | 23 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 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 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 16 | 52 | 52 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6 hours |
| Official Counter | Cynthia Madsen |
| Observers: | Dave Hill, Debbie James, Janet Shin, Jim Schmoker, Stacy Johnson |
Visitors:
Janet Shin, Dave Hill, and I welcomed our new volunteers Debbie James and Stacy Johnson. We were glad to welcome back our long time assistants, Jim Schmoker and Rob Reilly. We were very grateful for all the help. There were many hikers and bikers enjoying this beautiful day and we spoke to 6 people about HawkWatch.
Weather:
Today was a very pleasant day on the ridge with unusually light winds never exceeding 10 mph. To start the day, the winds arose from the southwest and then later came in from the southeast. The skies were clear with only about 5% cloud cover which allowed for unlimited visibility.
Raptor Observations:
Two local pairs of Red-tailed Hawks were seen today, one pair working the southern end, and the other pair patrolling the west ridge/Cabrini Shrine area. One adult Golden Eagle made several appearances, once trying to fend off the repeated attacks of an adult Red-tailed Hawk. We saw a local pair of American Kestrels bombard a migrating Red-tail, giving it a clear message to move on. We also observed the resident Prairie Falcon and one Sharp-shinned Hawk. Our migrant raptors included one Ferruginous Hawk, one Rough-legged Hawk, six Red-tailed Hawks, and eight Bald Eagle. We all were amazed to see a "kettle" of five of these Bald Eagles circling up over the west ridge and then shooting off to the north. As Jim Schmoker said, "That's a first!"
Non-raptor Observations:
Other non-raptors seen on the ridge today included: 1 Rock Pigeon, 2 Mourning Doves, 1 Northern Flicker, 1 Western Scrub-Jay, 4 Black-billed Magpies, 35 American Crows, 6 Common Ravens, 3 Bustits, 6 Mountain Bluebirds, 2 Townsend's Solitaires, 3 American Robins, and 2 Western Meadowlarks. We also spotted the first of the season White Butterfly and we noticed blooming Spring Beauty just below the rock platform on the southeast side.
Predictions:
Another front may be moving in tomorrow which does not speak well for the nice dry trail.
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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