Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 27, 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 | 2 | 12 | 12 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 13 | 83 | 83 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Golden Eagle | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| American Kestrel | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Buteo | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 30 | 127 | 127 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Carol Cwiklinski |
Visitors:
Carol Cwiklinski arrived a bit early and had tallied four migrants before this counter even reached the platform—her sharp eyes were much appreciated, especially during the migrant rush that followed. There were lots of hikers and bikers on the trail today. Several came up to the platform but only one dad (hiking with his girls and carrying an infant) thought to ask what we were watching for—but no raptors were visible at that moment; the girls were interested in the raven flying past at the time but were much more excited about their hike.
Weather:
The day was partly sunny, averaging about 80-percent cloud-cover, in which thick cumulus-type and thin translucent clouds shifted positions across the sky. The winds (bft 2-3) were initially from the southeast but shifted in the afternoon to come more from the east. Temperatures were warm at 17 – 18.5 C. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
Raptor height-of-flight was already fairly high in the morning, with most migrants during the watch passing by at the limit of the unaided eye or higher. Good cloud-cover made it easier to spot migrating raptors, but many were picked up by scanning with binoculars or by just catching them while following another high-flying migrant. Two sets of eyes were extremely helpful today. Twenty-six of the raptors migrated past between 9:00am and Noon MST; the twenty-seventh migrant was noted only a few minutes after Noon. After that, the flow seemed to slow dramatically—or perhaps the raptors were too high to detect. Many of the migrating raptors passed high over the west-side valley. One of the Red-tailed Hawk migrants was a very nice (likely Western) dark-morph. The two Golden Eagle migrants passed within about 5 minutes of each other over along the western ridges; they appeared to be immatures with varying amounts of white in the wings and tails. The highlight of the day was the appearance of a local adult Turkey Vulture who came north at eye-level along the east side of the Ridge, occasionally scratching its head with its "toes," and then turned near to the platform to return south down the west-side valley. A local Red-tailed Hawk was observed south on Dinosaur Ridge circling up when it abruptly stooped then pulled up and dropped legs briefly before roller-coastering a bit. At least one local adult Golden Eagle was also seen late in the afternoon making its rounds.
Non-raptor Observations:
White-throated Swifts were seen high over Rooney Valley. Also seen or heard were Bushtit, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Spotted Towhee, Northern Flicker, Chickadee species, American Crow, Townsend's Solitaire, and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay.
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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