Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field OrnithologistsColorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 28, 2022 |
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 5 | 8 | 22 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 14 | 29 | 78 |
| Observation start time: | 07:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: | Sammy Korengut |
Visitors:A trail runner who looked of Indian origin (as am I) who stopped at the watch to take in the view and this was confirmed when I could hear her listening to Hindi music. In the East where there are far more people of Indian origin, seeing them in natural areas is quite unusual. I once told a physician colleague of mine from India that we went for a walk in the woods and his response was “Why?†with genuine perplexity in his voice. Connie Fenton an old friend of Mark Amershek with a friend from Alaska wanted to know what the call she was hearing. I told her it was a Townsend’s Solitaire. She said she just uploaded an app. I asked her whether it was Merlin, and it was, and I showed her how to play the call, which she did and which attracted another Townsend’s Solitaire which they were thrilled to see close-up.
Weather:Today's wind forecast on earth.nullschool.net did not show a strong band of NW/W winds at the Wyoming-Colorado border area which I have hypothesized usually push migrants to the east of Denver around the Denver Convergence Vorticity Zone (DCVZ, and I thought this may allow some potential migrants to pass Dinosaur Ridge so I went up to confirm my hypothesis. There was a dusting of snow over the ridges to the West which I thought may give us the ability to see any migrant hawks below the ridge which we usually miss.
Raptor Observations:At 10:29 AM MST I found a binocular buteo to the NNE and when it turned I could see it had a white tail. I was going to call Shmuel who had left 5 minutes before, but it flew east, then flew back west of the watch and then almost directly overhead. It was a light morph lightly marked adult Ferruginous Hawk with no markings on its lesser coverts, no patagial mark and no belly-band. Looking at my phone to call Shmuel I heard a shout and he was running up the trail in case I had missed it. At 12:40 PM I saw a buteo with a white-based tail with a broadish dusky terminal band, but with spots on the belly with no carpal patches â€" a juvenile FH. Him and At 8:30 AM MST when I got to the watch Shmuel “Sammy†found an eagle directly overhead. I struggled to get my binoculars out of my backpack and could see that it had some white at the bases of its wings bilaterally, curved “muscular†secondaries, with a mild dihedral and looking like a buteo. It flew south and was joined by another eagle exactly similar looking and they both dropped as 4 Common Raven engaged them. At 10:59 AM a GE was seen circling to the NE, it then went over the western ridge and then dropped below and in front of the ridge to its south and we lost it. This was followed by 5 RT which followed the same route and we realize that this was a flyway for migrants for this hour. At 11:14 AM we picked the GE up again a little further South, but it then flew west, so not counted. At 11:56 AM an adult GE came in from the west and dropped to the SSE of the watch. At 12:12 PM another adult GE came in from the north flying south, but then dropped to the SSE of the watch. Migrant GE: At 9:49 AM an adult GE was found initially high and far to the SSE which had a molting short right 1st primary feather, followed at 10:38 AM by another adult GE in the same location. At 10:50 AM an adult GE was seen high and to the South . At 11:28 AM an adult GE was seen to the West over "3 Pines" and flew South behind Mount Morrison. At 12:15 PM a juvenile Bald Eagle was seen circling to the NE, a non-migrant. Other non-migrant hawks: CH 1, RT 4-5 mostly (likely) Western RT with dark throats (though some Eastern RT have dark throats as well). This is the 1st time this fall watch that there were so many migrant and non-migrant hawks and eagles that I didn't have time for lunch till 1 PM MDT.
Non-raptor Observations:Early morning there was a single hot-air balloon to the NE. later there was smog seen to the NE. Early afternoon a single hang glider to the NW. A drone flew South. Yellow-headed Blackbird 4, a skein of 45 extremely distant non-necked birds to the West flapping constantly which I thought may have been Sandhill Crane but too far to ID precisely, Mountain Bluebird 9 seen only by Shmuel, American Robin 277, Black-capped Chickadee 5, Common Raven 10, Townsend’s Solitaire 5, Black-billed Magpie 2. Raven flying south of the watch had the sun reflecting off the top of the wings making them look white like gulls! A GE had a flash off the base of one wing which made me think of FH, but it was only the reflection of the sun.
Report submitted by DAVID HILL (
)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at:
http://www.dfobirds.orgMore information at
hawkcount.org: [
Site Profile] [
Day Summary] [
Month Summary]
Site DescriptionDinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawk watch in Colorado and is the
best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Hawk watchers may
see 17 species of migrating raptors; and it is an excellent site to see rare
dark morph buteos including Broad-winged hawk, Swainson’s hawk, Ferruginous
hawk, Rough-legged hawk and Red-tailed Hawk. Other raptors we see include Golden
and Bald Eagles, Northern harrier, Osprey, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons,
Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Merlin, and Turkey
Vultures. Northern Goshawk is uncommon but also counted each season. Non-raptor
species include Rock Wren, Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane,
White-throated Swift, American White Pelican, and Dusky Grouse. Birders of any
skill level are always welcome. The hawk watch at Dinosaur Ridge is staffed by a
Hawk Counter and volunteers from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM from March 1st to May 14th,
weather permitting.
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
southwest end of lot to the 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.
(Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain: 259 feet)
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