Sunday, 8 March 2015

[cobirds] HSR: Dinosaur Ridge (08 Mar 2015) 3 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 08, 2015
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture000
Osprey000
Bald Eagle011
Northern Harrier000
Sharp-shinned Hawk000
Cooper's Hawk000
Northern Goshawk000
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk000
Red-tailed Hawk31010
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk000
Ferruginous Hawk000
Golden Eagle022
American Kestrel000
Merlin000
Peregrine Falcon000
Prairie Falcon011
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter000
Unknown Buteo000
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor000
Total:31414


Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 13:45:00
Total observation time: 5.25 hours
Official CounterLee Farrell
Observers: Linda Farrell, Mike Fernandez



Visitors:
Several hikers stopped by the station at mid-day to rest and soak up some sunshine, a few of them inquired as to what we were doing.

Weather:
Mostly sunny with high, relatively thin, cirrus clouds covering 50% to 75% of the sky. A temperature of about 0C in the morning rose to about 10C at 1400 hrs. Winds out of NE in the morning moved around to the SE in the afternoon. Winds were light at 1 to 2 BFT throughout the day.

Raptor Observations:
The resident male American Kestrel spent the entire morning, about 3 hours, perched on the power lines directly east of the station. The local Prairie Falcon arrived at its regular perch on the power poles south of the station at about 0930 MST, it spent about 15 minutes there before moving on to the south. Several local Red-tailed Hawks were observed throughout the day. Two birds perched and hunted from the power poles east and below the station, while others were seen over west ridge. Within minutes of each other, three migrating Red-tailed Hawks were observed moving north above west ridge at about 1230 hours. They provided the sum total of migration activity for the day.

Non-raptor Observations:
Townsend Solitaire, American Robin, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, White-breasted Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadee and Western Scrub-Jay were observed.

Predictions:
Tomorrow's weather is predicted to be very similar to today's. Should be a nice day, light winds out of the south suggest light migration activity consistent with that of today. The lower portion of the trail is at maximum muddy, while the upper portion is icy in the morning and wet and sloppy snow in the afternoon.


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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