Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 19, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 19 | 19 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 17 | 144 | 144 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Golden Eagle | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 19 | 193 | 193 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: | Charlie Wall, Janet Peters, Natalie Uschner-Arroyo |
Visitors:
Janet Peters and Charlie Wall helped find raptors in the morning.3 visitors.
Weather:
Light and increasing winds from the SE, and a perfectly blue sky made finding raptors quite difficult. By late morning thermal clouds began forming, initially far to the South, and thereafter to the West which made finding raptors easier in the afternoon. Natalie was excellent at finding raptors so distant I couldn’t even find in the binoculars initially, until they turned.
Raptor Observations:
Migrating raptors: the 1st migrant this morning at 11:35 AM MDT was seen far to the south and immediately identified as an accipiter, but through the scope the body was unmarked white including the undertail coverts, flight feathers were dark with lighter coverts and with pointed wings suggesting a Swainson’s Hawk which can have a long tail for buteo, but not as long as an accipiter. On top, its flight feathers were dark with grayish medially. Janet asked whether it could be a goshawk, and looking at Hawks at a Distance by Jerry Liguori we decided was an adult male American Goshawk. The migrating adult GE at 1:57 PM MDT was a difficult ID initially it looked stark black and white, so I initially thought it was a dark morph buteo, so I looked at the tail which was that of an adult GE, then things fell into place and we could see the total underwing with darker coverts, and the lighter base of tail compared to the tip ventrally. It was the snow cover markedly lightening the paler areas. In the afternoon the RTs with their undersurfaces shining a dazzling white, a reflection off the snow cover contrasted beautifully with the deep blue sky. Non-migrant raptors: At 10:25 AM MDT saw a blob on top of the horse corral on Green Mountain, and in binoculars looked like a GE, confirmed with a scope as having white on the base of the tail. Janet surmised it had had a big meal and was too heavy to fly, we watched it repeatedly and eventually couldn’t see it at 11:05 AM; at 1:28 PM an adult GE closeout high overhead and eventually flew East; at 1:56 PM the juvenile GE was found by Charlie far to the SE, another non-migrant; adult BE with a sub-adult III BE; RT 6.
Non-raptor Observations:
Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay 2, American Crow 26, Black-capped Chickadee 3, Townsend’s Solitaire 2, House Finch 5, Dark-eyed Junco 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Northern Flicker (red-shafted). A red squirrel found by Charlie to be sleeping in a tree for over an hour stole half an apple from my backpack, and a banana that Natalie had left out. 37 elk on the western ridge. A road-killed elk on Rte. 93 being moved into a truck using a winch by 2 young women.
Predictions:
Very similar to today
Report submitted by Official Counter (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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