[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (26 Apr 2020) 74 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 26, 2020
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	4	46	48
Osprey	4	20	20
Bald Eagle	0	1	15
Northern Harrier	0	0	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	10	37	42
Cooper's Hawk	10	51	57
Northern Goshawk	0	1	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	29	95	95
Red-tailed Hawk	6	29	112
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	2	7	8
Ferruginous Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	2	4	6
American Kestrel	7	52	57
Merlin	0	6	7
Peregrine Falcon	0	5	7
Prairie Falcon	0	0	2
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	2
Unknown Buteo	0	2	6
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	4
Total:	74	356	490

Observation start time:	08:15:00
Observation end time:	14:00:00
Total observation time:	5.75 hours
Official Counter	Carol Cwiklinski
Observers:	Joe Elliott, Steve Small

Visitors:
We had three helpful visitors today, Susan, Joe, and a nice man with a camera.

Weather:
Cloud cover was high throughout the day. Early, clouds were thin and it was sunny, so thermals were excellent. Later in the day, the clouds thickened, cooling thermals and making it easier to locate migrating birds. Winds were variable, southerly early and switching to north by days end.

Raptor Observations:
Raptor movement was dispersed, at times over Dino and others along the western ridges. There seemed to be regular movement of raptors, but at times it was a challenge to find them. Birds were generally very high.

Non-raptor Observations:
Many, many hikers were on the trail today. Today’s count was conducted from the power line to make social distancing easier.

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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]

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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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