Monday 11 March 2024

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (11 Mar 2024) 9 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 11, 2024
SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason Total
Black Vulture000
Turkey Vulture000
Osprey000
Bald Eagle11313
Northern Harrier000
Sharp-shinned Hawk000
Cooper's Hawk022
American Goshawk000
Red-shouldered Hawk000
Broad-winged Hawk000
Red-tailed Hawk77474
Rough-legged Hawk000
Swainson's Hawk000
Ferruginous Hawk044
Golden Eagle033
American Kestrel022
Merlin000
Peregrine Falcon111
Prairie Falcon022
Mississippi Kite000
Unknown Accipiter000
Unknown Buteo000
Unknown Falcon000
Unknown Eagle000
Unknown Raptor000
Total:9101101


Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official CounterDustin Kohler
Observers: Bill Young, Jim Howl, Joel Chapa, Mike Seruto



Visitors:
We had 23 visitors to the ridge today including Bill Young, Joel Chapa, Jim Howl, and Mike Serruto helping me out. Jim Howl was a visitor from another Hawk Watch. He lives in Wisconsin and has done some hawk watching in Minnesota and near Lake Superior.

Weather:
Partly cloudy or overcast all day today. Moderate winds from the east. Visibility was obstructed in the far distance by a haze.

Raptor Observations:
We had a migrating peregrine falcon rise quickly very high in the air, before going directly above us and then diving at full speed in the east. Evidently, getting a snack during their migration. We had two local red-tailed hawks fly up high and do some flirtatious diving with each other. Before the migrant peregrine, we also saw a local prairie falcon flying south and a potentially different peregrine falcon hunting along the west ridge.

Non-raptor Observations:
We saw two separate flocks of geese one of 17 birds and another of 25 geese. We also saw 16 mountain bluebirds fly by.

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks to be an overcast day with warm temperatures. The wind appears to start from the Southwest and switch to a Northern wind. I would expect that the morning should be better than the afternoon, but look for a big push before the storms later in the week.


Report submitted by Janet Peters (j.f.peters58@gmail.com)
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]




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. American 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 10th,
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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