Wednesday, 15 March 2017

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge (15 Mar 2017) 5 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 15, 2017
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture000
Osprey000
Bald Eagle066
Northern Harrier000
Sharp-shinned Hawk000
Cooper's Hawk000
Northern Goshawk000
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk000
Red-tailed Hawk28080
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk000
Ferruginous Hawk011
Golden Eagle033
American Kestrel011
Merlin000
Peregrine Falcon011
Prairie Falcon011
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter122
Unknown Buteo155
Unknown Falcon122
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor022
Total:5104104


Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 5 hours
Official CounterRoger Rouch
Observers:



Visitors:
None.

Weather:
Partly cloudy, calm and seasonably warm, if not hot. A breeze from the NE around 0-1 Bft. early then from the NW around 1-2 Bft. Temps rose from the lower 50's to lower 70's.

Raptor Observations:
Raptors appeared to enjoy the good thermals of a warm calm day. Of five migrating, four were "at the limit of 10X binoculars". Local raptor activity was relatively light. Three or four probably local high spiraling Red-Tailed were lost in the blue or clouds before any sense of flight direction could be determined.

Non-raptor Observations:
Also seen were Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, American Robin, Townsend's Solitaire, Western Scrub-Jay, Mountain Chickadee. A band of eight or ten Bushtit twittered through the brush in the afternoon.

Predictions:
The schedule doesn't show a counter for tomorrow, Thursday. If the calm and warm weather persists, a guess would be for high fliers as thermals develop.


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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