Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: May 01, 2017 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 1 | 1 | 70 |
| Osprey | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 5 | 5 | 53 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 1 | 64 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 263 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 1 | 43 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Total: | 11 | 11 | 652 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Richard Cuellar |
Visitors:
Several visitors came to the platform today, mostly for the view, but many also inquired about what we were watching or what we had seen. In the morning, a biker stopped for a rest and the view, and noted he had seen a Turkey Vulture and a Red-tailed Hawk down ridge, as well as his first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the year. In the afternoon, a local man brought a young man from back East who was hoping to see birds of prey; they were delighted to have just seen a colorful male American Kestrel. They stayed to chat a while and were able to see the day's westward-bound Broad-winged Hawk fly high over the Ridge.
Weather:
The day was partly sunny. It began with a heavy, unbroken bank of gray-tinged clouds riding the western ridges. A layer of snow still covered the ridges and valleys. The snow thinned during the day, eventually becoming very patchy in Rooney Valley. Cloud-cover, consisting of patchy cumulus, varied throughout the day but stayed mostly between 40 to 60 percent. Light winds came from the west in the first hour, but after a short lull, winds shifted to come from the east, then eventually shifted to come mainly from the northeast, becoming stronger (bft 3) and seemingly chillier. Measured temperatures were steady around 12 C to 13 C. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
The first hours of the watch were fairly slow, but after noon MST, the migrant flow increased somewhat. Most of the migrating raptors passed directly over or very close to Dinosaur Ridge; this allowed for some nice, but quick looks at a couple of juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawks, one of which had very nice rusty streaking on its underside. There was no observed migrant activity along the western ridges. An interesting moment arrived near noon when an adult Broad-winged Hawk was spotted high, just north of the platform; it flew steadily west until it disappeared. It was not counted as a migrant (although maybe it should be), but one assumes it should turn north at some point. A local Red-tailed Hawk harassed a juvenile Bald Eagle migrant, driving it to the west side of the Ridge temporarily. At the end of the watch, likely the same Red-tail expressed its displeasure at the presence of a local Golden Eagle, which did not seem the least little bit eager to cede its position. They circled and tussled over Dinosaur Ridge and the western valley for several minutes.
Non-raptor Observations:
The Rock Wren was seen briefly in the morning before visitors began to arrive. Also seen or heard were American Robin, Bushtit, Spotted Towhee, Canyon Wren, Black-billed Magpie, House Finch, Northern Flicker, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Western Meadowlark, White-throated Swift, Black-capped Chickadee, Yellow-rumped Warbler species, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Common Raven. Fifteen elk were seen atop the western ridge north of Cabrini.
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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