Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Gap ParkDenver, Colorado, USA
In 2022 Ajit and Liza Antony moved to Denver from New York State where they had been volunteer counters for almost 35 years at Mount Peter Hawk Watch, Hook Mountain Hawk watch in spring and fall, I-84 Overlook Hawk watch in fall. They wondered why Colorado, and especially Denver did not have any fall hawk watch. They volunteered their services to the Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch and conducted an exploratory fall hawk watch in 2022 but the results were meager â€" only 78 raptors were enumerated between the end of August and December, going on days when we thought might be productive. In 2024 Ajit and Liza Antony went to Matthews/Winters Park to the Mount Vernon Cemetery in September and observed a reasonable number of raptors. However this site had raptors flying behind Mount Vernon and not being seen further south, preventing a precise count. Looking at Google Maps, they identified this site as potentially fruitful, did an exploratory count, and found that it was comparable to the Mount Vernon Cemetery site which is just south of Lookout Mountain, but with unlimited views. This site is also higher, hence cooler, without any traffic noise at all.
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 15, 2024 |
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 3 | 13 | 13 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 9 | 22 | 22 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 19 | 21 | 21 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Kestrel | 25 | 30 | 30 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 61 | 96 | 96 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: | Liza Antony |
Visitors:A young man from Englewood was curious and asked whether we could see peregrines. I explained that we have at Dinosaur Ridge Hawk watch in spring, discussedraptor migration, and told him about Hawkcount.org which he immediately put on his phone.
Weather:Light winds from the East, temperatures 67-82°F,Low humidity 30%-20%, dropping barometric pressure, increasing cloud cover 35-80% â€" cirrus clouds initially from NW to NE with a solid bank of clouds from NE to SE made raptor finding easier, initial clear visibility only 10 km gradually and increased after 11 AM MST progressively to 20%. The haziness from wildfires in Canada and Western and NW US was reduced compared to 2 days ago. Downtown Denver could be seen hazily, but after 11 AM on could be seen moderately clearly. Denver often has afternoon thunderstorms in summer, and today at the end of the 11-12 hour we had 5 minutes of drizzle which continued for 2 minutes into the next hour, and for another 5 minutes at the half hour, with thunder just north of us. We left at 2 PM as there were only 2 raptors that hour. To the West there were dark clouds and frequent thunder.
Raptor Observations:The main flight path for raptors at this site is definitely to the East of the watch. Most raptors were found by binocular scanning. Initially most of the migrants were low flying just over North and South Table Mountains presumably as there were no strong thermals, then higher as presumably thermals Developed. The 1st migrant raptor at 8:42 AM MST was an AK at a eye-level, to the east. The 2nd hour was the busiest, with 28 migrants most at Level 4 (needing binoculars to spot). At 9:10 AM we had a kettle of 4 Swainson's Hawk followed by another 7, all behind the East-most tower/antenna on Lookout Mountain. The single Broad-winged Hawk at 11 AM was low and just north â€" not needing binoculars to identify it. Those flying to the east in the valley between South Table Mountain and this site seemed to lose lift and drop, but continued flying south. Non-migrant raptors: GE 3 adultâ€" 1 flying north over North Table Mountain, another coming in from the north and flying below us down Clear Creek Valley, a 3rd circling over Green Mountain; GE juvenile 1 flew North over us and dropped into the valley NW of us. SW 1 â€" streaming North from Green Mountain. CH 1. TVs 6. RT â€" 6 â€" 1 immature, 2 adult, 3 unaged. We saw almost as many migrant raptors today as the 2 of us saw for the entire exploratory fall season in 2022 from late August through December at Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch ! We tripped the eBird high number filter for BW, AK, and SW!
Non-raptor Observations:Hairy Woodpecker 1, Rock Wren 1, White-throated Swift 15, Common Raven 10 including 9 together, Steller's Jay 1, Bushtit 10. 2 paragliders taking off at 11:17 AM.
Predictions:From weather.gov for Golden, CO. "A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 8 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph."
Report submitted by Ajit Antony (
aiantony@earthlink.net)
More information at
hawkcount.org: [
Site Profile] [
Day Summary] [
Month Summary]
Directions to site:From I-70 from Northeast Denver, take Route 58, then a left turn going south on
Route 6, the 1st exit is for Lookout Mountain Road. Windy Saddle Park parking
lot is on the right.
From I-70 from points west of Denver, take the Lookout Mountain Road and follow
it to the Windy Saddle Park parking lot.
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