Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 27, 2017 | |||
| 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 | 8 | 8 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 9 | 161 | 161 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Buteo | 1 | 13 | 13 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Total: | 12 | 229 | 229 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Jim Schmoker |
Visitors:
Brian Johnson arrived early in the morning with binoculars, hoping to see some migrating raptors before heading off to look for nesting peregrines. Pam Batton and Trey Corkern also came armed with binoculars later in the morning, ready to help with the watch for a while. Jim Schmoker's help in spotting and tracking birds for several hours today was also greatly appreciated. Jefferson County Schools are apparently on break this week, so there were many more families and groups with children on the trail today, along with the usual hikers and bikers. Most came up for view only. However, one pair did show some interest in what was being seen; luckily at that moment, there was a local, adult Red-tailed Hawk that was hunting nearby in Rooney Valley. This provided them with a perfect example of the main migrant of the day.
Weather:
The watch began with blue sky and sun (with cloud-cover at 5-10 percent) but shifted to partly cloudy, then mostly cloudy (cloud-cover at about 80 percent) as a gray mass moved in from the northwest near noon MST. It was mildly breezy (bft 2 and 3) with winds initially from the north shifting to come generally from the east by mid-morning. Temperatures ranged from 8 C to 17 C. A thin, white foggy haze was observed to move northward from the Chatfield Lake area into the valley southeast of the Ridge in the morning. An orange-brown haze hung low and heavy in the morning in the Denver Basin to the northeast. Visibility was generally good, if a bit more hazy than usual.
Raptor Observations:
Two Sharp-shinned Hawks pushed north together low and close to the Ridge in the early morning, but nearly all the migrants today were Red-tailed Hawks that passed on the west side of the Ridge. Many migrated over the far western ridges from Mount Morrison to Cabrini/Bare Slope. Height-of-flight for the Red-tailed Hawks was high (HF2) and higher (HF3). Local Red-tailed Hawks were observed often today. A pair near West Ridge was seen chasing and diving after some Common Ravens in the morning. Possibly the same pair was seen circling with dropped legs near West Ridge again during the noon MST hour; one of the pair performed a steep, sharp roller-coaster flight. The absolute highlight of the day came right at the end of the watch when five local Red-tailed Hawks circled high together but at differing heights over the west-side valley; the uppermost pair fell from the sky together—spinning, cartwheeling with talons clasped—then releasing and parting after a few seconds. A sixth local adult Red-tailed Hawk (recently observed hunting at the base of Green Mountain) joined the other five in the west-side valley. The grouping dispersed with some heading west and some heading south.
Non-raptor Observations:
A Canyon Wren was heard very clearly again today. A Raven, that croaked with a higher pitch than one might expect, landed briefly on one of the power poles to the north of the HawkWatch platform. Also seen or heard were Western Meadowlark, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, Townsend's Solitaire, Black-billed Magpie, American Robin, American Crow, Spotted Towhee and Northern Flicker.
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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