Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: May 08, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 45 | 390 |
| Osprey | 0 | 3 | 53 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 4 | 49 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 4 | 27 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 13 | 112 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 35 | 231 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 26 | 140 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 37 | 460 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 1 | 5 | 46 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 2 | 22 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 3 | 25 |
| American Kestrel | 4 | 57 | 490 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Total: | 10 | 240 | 2124 |
| Observation start time: | 10:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley |
| Observers: | Chip Dawes, Clay Gibson, Karen Fernandez, Marirosa Donisi, Mike Fernandez |
Visitors:
Thank you to everyone who came out today and for all of your help this season. We had a nice day today and Chip and Marirosa were rewarded with the Goshawk. We had a raptor researcher, John, spend some time with us today which was a treat. We also had a visit from Chris late in the day who was able to get photos of the Goshawk. In total we saw 13 visitors on this windy day.
Weather:
We started late today to avoid the worst of the winds, and while I think we accomplished that we didn’t get much relief from them today with gusts up to 27 mph (measured hourly, could have been higher at times). Luckily the sun was out today so it was not nearly as cold as it was yesterday. The winds died down for a bit in the afternoon but picked back up at the end of the day.
Raptor Observations:
Migration is coming to an end with a total of 10 migrants today. One of my favorite parts of these high wind days is that birds hug the ridge, giving us great looks. At one point we had two male AK moving at the same time, one on either side of the ridge. We had a fun day with local raptors today. The local RT were seen kiting for most of the day as they tend to in these winds. We had both BE and GE, and twice today we saw a GE being mobbed by up to three RT at once. We also saw a local CH. The star of the show today was a bird I’ve been wanting for three years now. It always seems that others get incredible looks at adult AG at this site, and if you know me you know I’ve been wanting a goshawk to “stare at me in the soul†and today was the day. A few minutes after 1700 we had the most picture perfect adult AG fly directly along the ridge, cutting over towards Green Mountain just meters in front of us. We were lucky enough to have a photographer there with us that got some unbelievable shots of this bird. This is my season highlight without a doubt and I am so glad I was able to share it with a few volunteers.
Non-raptor Observations:
Passerine activity picked back up today with the usual suspects being seen. We had eerily low CORA activity, though, with only two seen all day. We got great looks at the BGGN that has been screaming along the ridge the last week or so.
Predictions:
Precipitation is predicted for tomorrow and I’m crossing my fingers it will stay light and allow us to count for a full day, my last day of the season.
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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