[cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (27 Sep 2024) 6 Raptors

Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park
Golden, Greater Denver, Colorado, USA

This is a new raptor migration site identified and designated so only in mid-September 2024. This is Colorado's 1st fall hawk watch. To get to the site, enter either Windy Saddle Park or Mount Zion into Google Maps on your favorite navigation app, or enter the coordinates 39.7368,-105.2454

Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 27, 2024
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	1	19	19
Osprey	0	3	3
Bald Eagle	0	0	0
Northern Harrier	0	2	2
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	22	22
Cooper's Hawk	1	42	42
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	14	14
Red-tailed Hawk	0	64	64
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	34	34
Ferruginous Hawk	0	3	3
Golden Eagle	0	2	2
American Kestrel	2	97	97
Merlin	0	0	0
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	1
Prairie Falcon	0	0	0
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	3	3
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	8	8
Total:	6	314	314

Observation start time:	08:15:00
Observation end time:	11:00:00
Total observation time:	2.75 hours
Official Counter	Ajit Antony
Observers:	Liza Antony

Weather:
Very light winds from the ENE, temperature 21°C, humidity 20-27%, barometer 29.92" Hg, cloud cover 70>35>25%, clear visibility 19% with haziness.

Raptor Observations:
We counted from the alternate site, as both of us were tired with a lot of malaise from our COVID vaccine. Raptors did not fly today. We had good cloud cover from NE to SE intermittently, though we binocular-scanned the sky all over, we could only find a few raptors far to the SE, south of Green Mountain at a great distance. It was disappointing as I hoped to see migrants, since the predicted winds were NW to NE â€" both should have helped southbound migrants. Perhaps it was the absence of strong winds, though there were plenty of thermals as evidenced by spiraling thermal topping clouds. Non-migrant raptors: AK 3, including one as soon as we got there flying low, eating a grasshopper, then landed on a nearby tree, but did not see it fly south. RT 2. GE 1 adult. TV 1. CH 1.

Non-raptor Observations:
Steller's Jay 1, Black-billed Magpie 1.

Predictions:
Sunny, with a high near 84°F, ESE 6 mph becoming SE 8 mph. We will be at Mount Zion Or the alternate site if we're still feeling well â€" counting by 9:30 AM.

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Report submitted by Ajit Antony (aiantony@earthlink.net)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

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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, turn right and follow the
clothes to find Windy Saddle Park parking lot 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, a longer route.


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