Thursday 9 March 2023

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (09 Mar 2023) 9 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 09, 2023
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture000
Osprey000
Bald Eagle255
Northern Harrier000
Sharp-shinned Hawk111
Cooper's Hawk111
Northern Goshawk022
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk000
Red-tailed Hawk12727
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk000
Ferruginous Hawk4910
Golden Eagle066
American Kestrel000
Merlin011
Peregrine Falcon000
Prairie Falcon033
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter000
Unknown Buteo000
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor000
Total:95556


Observation start time: 09:30:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Official CounterEmma Riley
Observers: Dave Erickson, Gary Rossmiller, Janet Peters, Jim Lowe, Marianne Erickson, Sammy Korengut



Visitors:
We had a great day of both visitors and volunteers! To start, we had a total of 6 observers today so thank you all for helping spot birds in the sea of blue. We had a total of 44 visitors today including groups from Atlanta, the Houston area, and we were also joined by Jim Lowe, founder and counter of the Herbster Spring Count in Herbster, WI. Jim helped spot and ID birds for most of the day, it was great to have you Jim!

Weather:
Once again the weather prediction was wrong in Colorado, which worked out very well for us! We enjoyed sunny conditions with some cloud cover and light winds from both the west and southeast today, reaching a maximum speed of 18.2 km/h. Relative humidity was very low today getting down to below 15%.

Raptor Observations:
We had somewhat of a slow morning with birds coming overhead through bright blue skies making spotting a bit tricky. We had an incredibly marked young BE come directly over and catch a thermal right along the ridge, followed by a beautiful adult FH. The flight picked up in the afternoon bringing us our first SS and CH of the season, both going low along the west ridge. We counted a total of 4 FH today which gave every volunteer a chance to get a good look at these incredible birds our site can be known for. Local birds were busy today with 4 RT, 2 BE, 1 GE, and 1 PR seen throughout the day. In the afternoon we observed a GE perched in a Cottonwood right along 93.

Non-raptor Observations:
We had another first of the season passerine today, a WBNU that could be seen in the snag right in front of the platform. Also seen today were MOBL (6), TOSO (3), AMRO (2), MOCH (1), HOFI (2), CORA (9), and AMCR (4). The presumable same group of elk could be seen again today near the Mother Cabrini shrine.

Predictions:
Temperatures are continuing to increase tomorrow but with heavier cloud cover, hopefully giving our eyes a break from the blue. Winds are predicted to be predominantly from the west at mild speeds. It should be a nice day to hawkwatch.


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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