Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 28, 2016 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 8 | 164 | 164 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 12 | 12 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 14 | 232 | 232 |
| Observation start time: | 07:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Cliff Hendrick |
Visitors:
Several people attempted the trail; mostly in the afternoon, when it was muddy and slushy. Only two hikers visited the platform for the view; they did not seem to have any interest in the watch. One (perhaps slightly crazy) runner was observed in the morning on the icy trail when it was still riddled with deep, rough, frozen footprints.
Weather:
It was a bright, sunny day with a mix of scattered and thin clouds that remained near 50% coverage. The extensive snow in the valleys and on the ridges, which made it fairly easy to see movement in the area, thinned only a little during the day. The temperature rose from 5 to 15 C (41 to 59 F). Winds were from the west initially but then shifted to come from the east, and eventually the northeast. They were mild, varying between Bft 1 and 2 throughout the day.
Raptor Observations:
All but 2 of today's migrants passed by within a 2-hour window before noon MST. Red-tailed Hawks made up about half of the count. There was some variety, however, in that a few of these Red-tails were juveniles, and one was a very nice, adult dark-morph.
Non-raptor Observations:
Five White-throated Swifts were seen headed north on the east side of the Ridge. A flock of a couple dozen American Robins moved along the Ridge and across the west valley toward WestRidge in the early morning. Also seen or heard were Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, Northern Flicker, Western Meadowlark, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, American Crow, Townsend's Solitaire, Cedar Waxwing, Black-billed Magpie, Black-capped Chickadee, Mountain Bluebird, Mountain Chickadee, and Bushtit. Over forty elk were seen east of Cabrini Shrine in the morning; 6 elk were observed later in the day on the east flank of Dinosaur Ridge below the HawkWatch platform.
Report submitted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (jeff.birek@birdconservancy.org)
Dinosaur Ridge information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.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 Bird Conservancy of the
Rockies from about 9 AM to around 3 PM from March 1st to May 7th.
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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