Sunday, 28 April 2019

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (28 Apr 2019) 1 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 28, 2019
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture0104105
Osprey02424
Bald Eagle0618
Northern Harrier078
Sharp-shinned Hawk04655
Cooper's Hawk08591
Northern Goshawk033
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk01212
Red-tailed Hawk1221314
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk099
Ferruginous Hawk0610
Golden Eagle0811
American Kestrel04853
Merlin011
Peregrine Falcon044
Prairie Falcon044
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter01114
Unknown Buteo049
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle013
Unknown Raptor0912
Total:1613760


Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 12:00:00
Total observation time: 3 hours
Official CounterMike Fernandez
Observers: Andrew Norman, Steve Rash



Visitors:
Steve Rash arrived 6:00 and stayed through 10:30 MST. Andrew Norman and son Oliver arrived at 11:00 MST. Thanks for the help! Other visitors asked about our watch, but the number on the ridge today was pretty low for this time of year.

Weather:
Wind was the weather story of the day. Probably the strongest sustained wind and gusts I've experienced on the platform in five years. Sand plumes from the quarries to the north and south scoured the I-70/Table Mtn corridor and filled the Soda Lakes/Chatfield area with clouds of dust. At times it was difficult to keep binoculars steady. Even our juniper was not much help today. The winds were directly from the west. The eastern slope of the ridge was mostly motionless. Abandoned the watch due to high winds and incoming thunderstorm at 12:00 pm MST. (PWS: Miller Lane, Idledale)

Raptor Observations:
Migrating Raptors: One brave migrating Red-tailed Hawk made the trek north while facing directly west the whole time. Non-Migrating Raptors: Local Red-tailed hawks (4) took advantage of lulls to hunt the western valley. One Golden Eagle elevatored straight up and then dove down towards Mathews-Winters park (which was almost empty today). Local Turkey Vultures (6) kettled above the ridge several times today, during lulls.

Non-raptor Observations:
Also seen or heard: Western Meadowlark (1), Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay (2), Violet-green Swallow (2), White-throated Swift (12), Blue Jay (1), Spotted Towhee (1), Common Raven (2), Broad-tailed Hummingbird (6), Yellow-rumped Warbler (2).

Predictions:
It's spring in Colorado.


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.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/69f13675c4a83b618503545c67059d00%40hawkcount.org.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

No comments:

Post a Comment