[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (28 Apr 2018) 23 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 28, 2018
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	2	86	88
Osprey	0	6	6
Bald Eagle	1	3	6
Northern Harrier	0	3	3
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	18	22
Cooper's Hawk	2	32	40
Northern Goshawk	0	1	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	7	12	12
Red-tailed Hawk	3	66	234
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	1
Swainson's Hawk	1	5	5
Ferruginous Hawk	0	2	4
Golden Eagle	0	3	11
American Kestrel	1	18	32
Merlin	0	0	0
Peregrine Falcon	0	3	4
Prairie Falcon	0	2	4
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	3	13	17
Unknown Buteo	2	18	23
Unknown Falcon	0	3	3
Unknown Eagle	0	2	2
Unknown Raptor	0	7	8
Total:	23	303	527

Observation start time:	10:00:00
Observation end time:	12:00:00
Total observation time:	2 hours
Official Counter	Mitchell Blystone
Observers:

Visitors:
A lot of trail traffic but not too many visitors to the platform.

Weather:
A beautiful spring day with plenty of blue sky. Early in the day high cirrus clouds covered the western horizon with a later development of some decent cumulonimbus clouds. A cool eastern breeze persisted through the morning.

Raptor Observations:
A great day for close ups of Broad-Wings! My first 10 minutes on the hill had 7 BWHs fly really low and near the deck. There was a lot of activity around Mt. Morrison with some of the migrators being little more than dots on the horizon. Most of the local's activity was farther south down the ridge line.

Non-raptor Observations:
Lots of White throated swifts, Chickadees, Robins, Dark-eyed junkos, Crows, Magpies, and even a couple rabbits.

Predictions:
Hopefully as good as today! Activity seemed to be sticking to the western side of the hill so maybe it's theme!

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Report submitted by Matthew Smith (matt.smith@birdconservancy.org)
Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.org/
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

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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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