[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (24 Oct 2022) Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 24, 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	0	4	12
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	1
Red-tailed Hawk	0	3	17
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	7
Ferruginous Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	2	7
American Kestrel	0	2	10
Merlin	0	0	0
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Prairie Falcon	0	0	2
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	1	1
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	1	1
Total:	0	15	64

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	10:00:00
Total observation time:	2 hours
Official Counter	Ajit Antony
Observers:	Liza Antony, Sammy Korengut

Weather:
A strong cold front went through yesterday, and while in the East we could look forward to a good migration flight today with Golden Eagles at this time of the year, I was not sure the same would pertain in Denver with different local conditions. Weather.gov predicted chilly weather in the low 40s F with NW winds at 15 mph. Earth.nullschool.net showed a very strong band of West winds to the north of Denver near the Wyoming â€" Colorado border and very much stronger than that at the hawk watch location â€" and we had quite ferocious winds, probably caused by a "fall wind" (from my limited but increasing knowledge of local meteorology) which would push any potential migrants coming south along the Front Range instead far to the East of Denver to the plains area around the Denver Convergence Vorticity Zone. Https://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Fall_wind

Raptor Observations:
The only raptors seen were up to 3 local RT which were gratefully observed by us â€" overhead, and a pair over Green Mountain. Schmuel "Sammy" Korengut came up to help us and I told him that only a true hawk watcher would come out in such conditions with the prospect of seeing none to only a few migrant hawks.

Non-raptor Observations:
Townsend's Solitaire 3, Common Raven 2, American 3, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1.

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Report submitted by DAVID HILL ()
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: http://www.dfobirds.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 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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