Thursday, 2 May 2019

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (02 May 2019) 12 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: May 02, 2019
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture66111
Osprey1227
Bald Eagle0018
Northern Harrier009
Sharp-shinned Hawk1459
Cooper's Hawk0296
Northern Goshawk003
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk0012
Red-tailed Hawk22318
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk009
Ferruginous Hawk0010
Golden Eagle0011
American Kestrel2258
Merlin001
Peregrine Falcon004
Prairie Falcon004
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter0014
Unknown Buteo009
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle003
Unknown Raptor0012
Total:1218788


Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 13:00:00
Total observation time: 5 hours
Official CounterRoger Rouch
Observers:



Visitors:
No visitors.

Weather:
Mostly cloudy to start but quickly becoming sunny with a band of puffy white/gray clouds along the south horizons all day. Temperatures rose from 11C to 17C with winds from the SE about 2 bft. (Surrounding foothills were a refreshing green after the recent rains)

Raptor Observations:
In the first half hour of the watch a fairly tightly grouped bunch of six Turkey Vultures rose from the south taking slow spirals to disappear to the north, an Osprey flew north over the Rooney Valley, and a local Golden Eagle flew south and was harassed by a local Red-Tailed. The day slowed after that with no real pattern of time or place for the remaining migrating raptors. Non-migrating raptors included a Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, and Cooper's Hawk. Solitary vultures roamed up and down the ridges and valleys and local Red-tailed activity was mostly over the west ridges.

Non-raptor Observations:
Three American Pelican passed from south to north along the flank of Mt. Morrison, possibly migrating. White-throated Swift could be spotted most any time after early morning and buzzing hummingbirds were common. Also seen or heard were Common Raven, Spotted Towhee, American Robin, Western Meadowlark.

Predictions:
Possibly still some steam left in the season? My last official day and I wanted to say thanks to counters who all wrote good descriptive daily reports. They gave me a snapshot sense of what it was like to be there, with the excitement of sightings, the sometimes weather discomfort, and the pleasure of the scenery. Wish I could have been there on some days (and was glad I wasn't on a few).


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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