Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 25, 2019 | |||
| 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 | 10 | 10 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 70 | 70 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 5 | 97 | 97 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | David Gulbenkian |
Visitors:
David Gulbenkian came up to see some migrants and arrived just in time to see what turned out to be the last migrant of the day, a male American Kestrel. Many hikers and bikers were on the trail, but few came to the platform, either only for the view or accidentally by missing the trail's turnoff point for the descent back to the parking lot. In the morning, a Jeff. Co. Parks team worked with shovels to improve drainage on the upper trail.
Weather:
The sunny, hazy day had minimal cloud-cover, although later in the afternoon a few clouds, some heavy, did roam the sky. A fog/haze mix, thick, with a well-defined upper border, filled the distant southeastern valley in the morning; it spread slowly upward and to the west and north, combining (or re-joining) with the general Denver Basin haze. Eventually, visibility began to be affected at an estimated 4-5 km and was very poor past 10 km (Mt. Lindo needle barely visible to naked eye). Little snow cover remained on the ridges, but a large patch still brightened the north flank of Mount Morrison and the Sub-Peak area. Chilly winds of 2-4 bft came from the northeast and east-northeast. Temperatures ranged from 7 to 10 C.
Raptor Observations:
The last three migrants passed during the 11:00-11:30am MST half-hour. Among these was the highlight of the day: an adult, dark-morph Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk, with a mostly-white tail that sported a little rusty-red at the distal end. Spotted at eye-level in the west-side valley, the Harlan's crossed the Ridge just north of the platform, giving a nice close-up view, before continuing northward. Four of today's five migrating raptors moved north along or very close to Dinosaur Ridge, all easily visible. The Ferruginous Hawk, a nice rufous-morph adult, was spotted moving north past I70W and low along the eastern flank of Cabrini Shrine hill. The local Red-tailed Hawks were seen only a few times in the morning, with three observed at the same time. By the afternoon, these local Red-tails were much more active. One flew up and down Rooney Valley. The pair hung out over the western ridges and were also observed circling together while dropping legs.
Non-raptor Observations:
A pair of Common Ravens flew a delightful tandem dance up and down the ridges and valleys today. A total of nine American Crows moved north up Rooney Valley; one group of four was especially vocal. Six or seven bluebirds were seen also flying north, and at least one was a Mountain Bluebird. Also seen or heard were Black-billed Magpie, Canada Goose, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, Spotted Towhee, Townsend's Solitaire, Northern Flicker, Rock Pigeon, and Mountain Chickadee. Seven Mule deer were spotted on the southern flank of Cabrini Shrine hill.
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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