[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (11 Mar 2023) 17 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 11, 2023
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	0
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	3	8	8
Northern Harrier	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	1	1
Cooper's Hawk	0	1	1
Northern Goshawk	0	2	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	8	39	39
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	0
Ferruginous Hawk	1	11	12
Golden Eagle	2	8	8
American Kestrel	0	0	0
Merlin	0	1	1
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Prairie Falcon	0	3	3
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	1	1	1
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	2	2	2
Total:	17	77	78

Observation start time:	09:30:00
Observation end time:	15:30:00
Total observation time:	6.5 hours
Official Counter	Emma Riley
Observers:	Aarohi Barman, Andrew Jensen, Jim Lowe

Visitors:
It was a busy day along the Dakota Ridge Trail with 27 visitors at the ridge. Many visitors had questions about our work, raptor migration, and how our count was going. As mentioned previously, some of our visitors got to see a RT eating through a scope which we were excited to share. Emma and Aaorhi (Ro) were joined by DFO volunteer Andrew Jensen in the second half of the day who helped spot and ID birds during the big push of the day. Jim Lowe, mentioned in the March 9th report, joined us again as well and it was great to have him back. At the end of the day we were all joined by Andrew (did not catch his last name), a raptor biologist who is new to the area, and the one to spot the RT feeding. We look forward to him joining us in the future!

Weather:
We had a great spring day today with temperatures reaching 17 degrees celsius, with partial cloud cover for most of the day making for a great hawkwatching day. Winds were brisk in the morning, but settled down quickly. coming from the SE for most of the day. Winds seemed to be picking up again as we were hiking down at the end of the day.

Raptor Observations:
Today was our biggest day of the season and it felt like it. We had a slow morning with no migrants before 1100, but the 1200 hour brought a great push keeping us all very busy until 1400. Migrant highlights include a heavily mottled young BE, a young GE that was escorted out by a local RT, and another quick look at a FH. Birds were moving quickly today, with the common lines being just below horizon along the western ridge, or high through the western valley. Local raptor activity was equally as exciting today with 3 RT, 2 GE, 1 BE, and 1 PR with a missing tail feather that perched on top of the telephone poles just N of our platform. The local raptor star of the show, however, was the female RT of our local mating pair eating a prairie dog just below us on the east side of the ridge. We got to enjoy sharing this with 6 visitors that got to see this action through a scope.

Non-raptor Observations:
Today brought more of our early season passerines including SCJA (1), TOSO (3), AMRO (2), DEJU (2), CORA (11), and AMCR (4). We also spotted the elk herd again just north of the Mother Cabrini shrine. We're getting excited to see some new (bird) faces as the season continues on.

Predictions:
Tomorrow should be a little cooler with heavier cloud cover. Winds are predicted to be coming from the east, which will hopefully bring us another good flight.

---

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]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - [Project Details]

---

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 hawk watch signs from the
southwest end of the parking lot to the hawk watch 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, and walk to
the flat area at the crest of the ridge. (Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain:
259 feet)

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en
* All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/01010186d3af7e49-d03b0392-7377-430b-b63b-a3f64f4ff338-000000%40us-west-2.amazonses.com.