Saturday 4 March 2023

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (04 Mar 2023) 9 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 04, 2023
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture000
Osprey000
Bald Eagle011
Northern Harrier000
Sharp-shinned Hawk000
Cooper's Hawk000
Northern Goshawk122
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk000
Red-tailed Hawk51919
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk000
Ferruginous Hawk012
Golden Eagle344
American Kestrel000
Merlin011
Peregrine Falcon000
Prairie Falcon011
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter000
Unknown Buteo000
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor000
Total:92930


Observation start time: 09:30:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Official CounterEmma Riley
Observers: Carol Cwiklinski, Aarohi Barman, Sammy Korengut, Shannon Campbell, Steve Small



Visitors:
Today was Aarohi Barman’s, our other staff member for the season, first day! She helped observe and count, as well as Carol Cwiklinski, Steve Small, Shannon Campbell, and Sammy Korengut. We had 21 visitors today, including a number of mountain bikers stopping by. The trail was busy!

Weather:
We had clear skies to start the day but clouds rolled in around 1200 cooling the air down and providing a nice backdrop to hawkwatch. Winds were once again predominantly from the NE, with some NW winds at the end of the day.

Raptor Observations:
Todays flight started out high and continued that way for most of the day. Migrants were seen all over, from Green Mountain to the western ridge and everything in between. We finished our day with 9 migrants counted, including three GE and our second NG of the season taking a west line. Our local raptor presence was very strong today with 5 RT, 2 GE, 2 BE, 1 PR, and one NG taking a sharp east line in quite the hurry. All in all we stayed busy and entertained all day.

Non-raptor Observations:
We were joined by some of our normal passerines today including TOSO (3), AMRO (2), CORA (9), AMCR (4), BCCH (1), and DEJU (3). We also saw elk near the Mother Cabrini figure. Anywhere from one to 6 hang gliders could be seen for most of the day, with one coming directly overhead!

Predictions:
Tomorrow should be warmer than the last few days, but accompanied by clear blue skies all day, making for potentially high and tricky to spot birds. Winds are predicted to come from the West with moderate strength. We are hoping for some more first of season species.


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)

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