[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (20 Mar 2025) 68 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 20, 2025
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	0
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	4	12	12
Northern Harrier	1	2	2
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	2	2
Cooper's Hawk	1	3	3
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	59	119	119
Rough-legged Hawk	0	2	2
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	0
Ferruginous Hawk	1	10	10
Golden Eagle	1	12	12
American Kestrel	0	1	1
Merlin	1	2	2
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Prairie Falcon	0	2	2
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipitrine	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	0	0
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	0
Total:	68	167	167

Observation start time:	09:00:00
Observation end time:	17:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Emma Riley, Audrey Anderson
Observers:	Ryan Speights, Archer Silverman, Chip Dawes, Owen Robertson, Steve R

Visitors:
Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers and visitors we had on the ridge today! With large flights like this it is wonderful to have extra eyes helping spot on the ridge. We appreciate all of our volunteers and the time and dedication you put into the Hawkwatch. We couldn't do this without you, thank you all of an extraordinary day! We had a total of 12 visitors today and many who stayed and got to witness the main flight! Two lifer FEHAs were also had on the ridge today, one of our volunteers and a visitor from Ohio, very exciting! Can't make it out to the ridge and still want to follow along? Check out our Trektellen page and follow along with live updates at https://www.trektellen.org/count/view/4515/20250301 .

Weather:
Mostly overcast conditions with a light wind till about 16:00 when the wind picked up to around 20mph. Late afternoon conditions yielded partial blue skies. Overall temperatures averaging around 15C.

Raptor Observations:
Today marked the best day so far of the 2025 season! A total of 68 migrant raptors were counted with a total of 7 different species. The main showstopper of the day was our Red-tailed Hawk flight in the 12:00 hour. A total of 41 RTHA were recorded, most in a low flight line directly over the ridge. The first overhead birds came in a group of 8 individuals, 5 even forming a small kettle gaining altitude before continuing NB. The next overhead group consisted of 8 RTHA including 2 adult dark morphs. A group of 9 individuals followed. A few more RTHA used a flightline along the far W ridge. Overall consistent migrant RTHA activity throughout the day and pretty amazing Red-tail flight, especially this time in the season. Other highlights included a close flyover of a dark morph FEHA, close views of a stunning male NOHA, along with a Merlin and Cooper's Hawk along the W ridge. A few migrant eagles were also a treat. The 59 RTHAs are an exciting sneak-peek at the species numbers to come. Non-migrant observations yielded our first of season Turkey Vulture! A wonderful sight to see as it soared around Red Rocks before heading back south. Other local raptors included an adult SSHA, male AMKE, RTHAs, and a few GOEAs.

Non-raptor Observations:
Canada Goose 2, Black-capped Chickadee 2, Mountain Bluebird 3, House Finch 9, American Goldfinch 4, Spotted Towhee 1

Predictions:
Overcast, light winds out of the E for the majority of the day before switching to a W in the late afternoon. High of 12C.

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Report submitted by Official Counter (j.f.peters58@gmail.com)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: www.dinosaurridgehawkwatch.org
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

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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
Hawk Counter(s) and volunteers from March through early May.

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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