Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 24, 2017 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 7 | 65 | 65 |
| Osprey | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 5 | 14 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 34 | 44 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 4 | 55 | 60 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 3 | 17 | 17 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 75 | 255 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| American Kestrel | 2 | 29 | 41 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 7 | 11 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 11 | 26 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 16 | 23 |
| Total: | 27 | 359 | 615 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:45:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Richard Cuellar |
Visitors:
A morning biker parked his bike and came up for the view. He really seemed to enjoy it, and exclaimed what a great day it was. Although there was a fair amount of traffic on the trail the rest of the day, few ventured onto the platform.
Weather:
The morning was partly sunny with a mix of thick and thin clouds that fluctuated around 50 to 60 percent cloud-cover. In the afternoon, the sun disappeared as cloud-cover became thicker, grayer and increased to near-complete coverage. Winds (bft 2-3) were from the east, shifting occasionally to come from the southeast or northeast. Temperatures ranged from 14 C to 17 C. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
It was the variety of the migrating raptors that made today interesting, although few came close enough to provide entertaining views. Most of the migrants passed over the western valley. The rest moved along the distant western ridges, except for a few that came along Dinosaur Ridge. Height-of-flight was variable throughout the day but was always fairly high (HF2-4). Highlights included a morning Osprey, three adult Broad-winged Hawks, dispersed throughout the day, and a dark-morph Ferruginous Hawk, late in the watch. Also worth mentioning: two Peregrine Falcons, at least one of which was heavily helmeted, circled up high over the western valley with a Cooper's Hawk before all three continued north. Local Red-tailed Hawk activity seemed muted. A local, adult Swainson's Hawk was spotted going south along the Ridge. Three to four local Turkey Vultures flew up and down the valleys; one adult was seen to scratch its head with its foot while flying past the HawkWatch platform. A local, male American Kestrel was observed in Rooney Valley harassing a local, adult Sharp-shinned Hawk. The same kestrel also set upon a local, adult Red-tailed Hawk twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, driving it each time toward Green Mountain.
Non-raptor Observations:
At least six Barn Swallows were seen moving north along the Ridge today. Several Violet-green Swallows also passed north; at one point a group of twenty-plus surged past the Ridge north up Rooney Valley. Many White-throated Swifts moved up and down the valleys, as well. A white, "egret-like" bird flew low up Rooney Valley, but did not fly much in the style of an egret... Also seen or heard were Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Canyon Wren, Blue Jay, Spotted Towhee, Western Meadowlark, Black-billed Magpie, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, American Crow, House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, Common Raven, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Bushtit, and Townsend's Solitaire.
Report submitted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (jeff.birek@birdconservancy.org)
Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies 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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