Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 28, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 15 | 288 | 318 |
| Osprey | 2 | 40 | 46 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 14 | 44 |
| Northern Harrier | 2 | 16 | 21 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 5 | 77 | 93 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 6 | 166 | 187 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 10 | 99 | 99 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 4 | 149 | 410 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 1 | 37 | 37 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 1 | 5 | 17 |
| Golden Eagle | 1 | 9 | 20 |
| American Kestrel | 4 | 396 | 418 |
| Merlin | 1 | 16 | 20 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 10 | 12 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 12 | 13 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Total: | 52 | 1356 | 1782 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Dustin Kohler |
| Observers: | Audrey Anderson, Isaac Leb, Lily Douglas, Marirosa Donisi, Natalie Uschner-Arroyo, Pam Moore |
Visitors:
We had 45 visitors to the ridge today. We had a visitor from Miami running along the trails. We also had a visitor from Sacramento, California named Lily Douglas who helped us spot for a few hours as she was waiting for her evening flight.
Weather:
Today started off cloudy and remained partly cloudy for the rest of the day. The wind shifted direction constantly until about 4:30 MST, then it was a northwestern wind with 20+ mph gusts.
Raptor Observations:
Migrants started pretty low and close and got higher/ further away as the day went on. After the wind picked up the migrants got lower and struggled to move up the headwind. The Ferruginous hawk was a dark morph. At first glance I thought it was a Golden Eagle, based on size, but after looking at her (most likely) again the tail was a uniform white color and the tucked bicolored wings lacked the darker trailing edge of the Golden Eagles wings. Our migrant who was an actual Golden Eagle was being chased north by 2 red-tails and a couple of Ravens. One of the Red-tails was an immature missing 3 primaries. The other particularly aggressive Red-tailed chased this Eagle far to the south and then turned around and chased the Eagle back to the North and out of sight. At about 9:30 MST a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew by and dove into a juniper tree. We heard a surprised squawk from a Chipping Sparrow as the Sharp-shinned flew off empty-taloned into a nearby tree to pout before flying off to the south. There was also a male and female pair of local Cooper's Hawks. 2 Golden Eagles, and a different local Sharpshin. I'm not sure that the accipiters were local, or if the wind prevented them from moving on.
Non-raptor Observations:
Today we saw a lucky Chipping Sparrow, Rock Wren, Western Meadowlark, Spotted Towhee, American Crow, Western Bluebird, Blue-gray gnatcatcher, Black-capped Chickadee, Violet-Green Swallow, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, White-throated Swift, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, Double Crested Cormorant, and Eurasian Collared Dove. The Swifts were having trouble flying in the wind at the end of the day.
Predictions:
Tomorrow should be another warm, partly cloudy day. I expect a dryer trail and similar migrant numbers 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 10:00 AM to 6:00 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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