[cobirds] HSR: Dinosaur Ridge (23 Mar 2015) 6 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 23, 2015
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	0
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	0	1	1
Northern Harrier	0	1	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	1	1
Cooper's Hawk	1	2	2
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	4	36	36
Rough-legged Hawk	0	1	1
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	0
Ferruginous Hawk	0	2	2
Golden Eagle	0	3	3
American Kestrel	0	2	2
Merlin	0	0	0
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Prairie Falcon	0	1	1
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	1	2	2
Unknown Buteo	0	1	1
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	0
Total:	6	53	53

Observation start time:	09:00:00
Observation end time:	14:00:00
Total observation time:	5 hours
Official Counter	Joyce Commercon
Observers:

Visitors:
There were a handful of visitors today. Some crossed the platform from the north, having left the official trail. A few even said hello or inquired as to what had been seen.

Weather:
The day was warm with constant winds (bft 2) from the east and northeast. It was partly cloudy with an average 40% cloud cover of mostly cumulus clouds scattered about the sky. Visibility was good but a bit of haze developed by the afternoon.

Raptor Observations:
Raptor migration today was primarily over Dinosaur Ridge at a fairly high height-of-flight and involved mostly Red-tailed Hawks. The highlight of the day was a juvenile Cooper's Hawk that migrated north low and directly over the HawkWatch site. Also of note was the ubiquity of a certain juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. A juvenile Red-tail was spotted numerous times over Dinosaur Ridge, over WestRidge, in Rooney Valley, as well as mixing it up near Cabrini with the other local Red-tails. There may have been two of them; if so, at least one had noticeable white upper-tail coverts.

Non-raptor Observations:
A group of about seven Mountain Bluebirds moved north over Rooney Valley in the morning, with another one persevering north alone a few hours later. Several groups of American Crows were seen heading north along WestRidge. Also seen or heard were Black-billed Magpie, American Robin, Bushtit, Spotted Towhee, Western Meadowlark, Mountain Chickadee, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven and Rock Pigeon.

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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.