Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 25, 2020 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 13 | 13 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 5 | 65 | 65 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Total: | 8 | 100 | 100 |
| Observation start time: | 08:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 4.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Robert Hill |
Visitors:
Robert Hill and grandson Cameron, plus two more family members and their dog, arrived early to check out the HawkWatch; Robert and Gunner (the well-behaved, leashed, family dog) stayed to help spot for a few hours while the other family members enjoyed a hike along the Ridge. Later in the watch as more hikers stopped by, there were a few who inquired about the watch and what we were seeing. Everyone practiced social distancing on the platform, but 6-ft social distancing was sometimes hard to maintain on the trails. Jefferson county (and my home county, Douglas) have instituted a stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus, effective Thursday, March 26 at 8am MDT. Going out for exercise may still be allowed (check to be sure) but a regular HawkWatch will likely not be conducted until this order is lifted.
Weather:
The day started out partly-cloudy with a lot of thin diaphanous clouds allowing for both sunny warmth and good hawk-watching. Cloud-cover increased from 30- to 90-percent with a mix of thicker white, thinner cirrus type and translucent clouds. Winds came mostly from the east (bft 2-3) but became variable near noon MST shifting finally to come from the west at bft 3-4 by 12:30pm. Cloud-cover began to shift considerably during this time, with thin clouds at one point resembling a huge, ragged checkerboard, which eventually disappeared, sheared apart. The temperature increased from 12 C to 16.5 C. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
All the migrants passed by from about 9am to 10:30am MST and were evenly split with about half moving along the far western ridges and the other half migrating reasonably close to Dinosaur Ridge. An adult Cooper’s Hawk was kind enough to pass "easily visible" to the naked eye on its way north. It was also pleasant to watch a juvenile Bald Eagle, first spotted by Robert, make its way steadily north up Rooney Valley. No local Turkey Vulture was seen today but a local Golden Eagle was spotted north of I70 and again, later, one was seen moving south along the western ridges. For the last few hours of the watch, it was very quiet; no migrants and hardly any local raptors were seen even though the thin-clouded sky was ideal for spotting.
Non-raptor Observations:
Three or four Townsend's Solitaires moved up and down the Ridge near the platform in the morning, often voicing a sweet, rapid burble. Mountain and Western Bluebirds were seen in a few small groups heading north along the Ridge. Also seen or heard today, mostly in the morning, were American Robin, Black-billed Magpie, Mountain Chickadee, Spotted Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco, American Crow, Common Raven, 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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