Thursday, 14 March 2019

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (14 Mar 2019) 11 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 14, 2019
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 Hawk113232
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk000
Ferruginous Hawk011
Golden Eagle011
American Kestrel000
Merlin000
Peregrine Falcon000
Prairie Falcon000
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter000
Unknown Buteo000
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle011
Unknown Raptor000
Total:114141


Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 13:00:00
Total observation time: 4 hours
Official CounterRoger Rouch
Observers:



Visitors:
Two women stopped by to talk weather and ask what was going on. They were interested in the program and able to see a couple of migrating Red-tailed Hawks.

Weather:
Partly to mostly cloudy with brief periods of diffuse sun. Temperatures rose from the low 30's to the mid-40's with a light wind around 1 or 2 Bft from the SE and E. Nearly total snow cover on ground terrain.

Raptor Observations:
Not much in terms of variety, but generally close views above or just east of the ridge, with a few at eye level and below eye level. Other than a high flier in the late day, all were gliding on a dedicated north flight path with little spiraling. Very little local raptor activity. The day's highlight was a very dark dark morph Red-tailed that flew by at eye level over the Rooney valley.

Non-raptor Observations:
Common Raven, Black-billed Magpie, Woodhouse's Scrub-jay, American Robin, Townsend Solitaire, Canada Goose, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Canyon Wren (brief call and visual, not singing). All times reported in Mountain Standard Time.

Predictions:
The trail will obviously not be in idea conditions for a few days. At days end the trail past the gate at the big turn was mostly snow packed and also a couple or few inches of now. The lower trail was similar, but also had drifts to low and mid calf covering maybe 30% of the lower trail length. There is some packed trail in these areas from myself and two up and back hikers, but these areas could be a bit of challenge or prohibitive for some. There was active melting. The observation platform is mostly wet gravel but some snow pack. Sometimes post storm migration is better than average.


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]




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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