[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (21 Mar 2025) 16 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 21, 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	3	15	15
Northern Harrier	0	2	2
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	2	2
Cooper's Hawk	3	6	6
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	9	128	128
Rough-legged Hawk	0	2	2
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	0
Ferruginous Hawk	0	10	10
Golden Eagle	0	12	12
American Kestrel	1	2	2
Merlin	0	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:	16	183	183

Observation start time:	09:00:00
Observation end time:	17:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Audrey Anderson
Observers:	Amy Walsh, Derek Freed, Kathleen Stewart, Leslie Dixon

Visitors:
Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers! Another great day so far for this seasons count. A total of 7 visitors came up to the ridge today. 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:
Today began with winds from the N/NW up to 16 mph, varied in the N to E the rest of the day gradually getting lighter. Overall overcast with sun in the afternoon.

Raptor Observations:
Raptor movement was slow in the morning which changed when a close line of RTHA came low over the ridge. 4 kettled briefly before 3 headed northbound. Other migrants used the far W ridge with little to no movement in the E. 2 COHA followed the W line cruising N, the 3rd Coopers of the day was high directly above the ridge, giving us distant but extended looks. A highlight of the day was a migrating American kestrel! It’s always a wild experience hearing a raptor before you see it, this female kestrel was calling away while flying fast and low NB against the ridge.

Non-raptor Observations:
Northern Flicker 1, Black-billed Magpie 1, American Crow 7, Common Raven 8, Black-capped Chickadee 2, Mountain Chickadee 1, Mountain Bluebird 29, American Robin 3, House Finch 5

Predictions:
Tomorrow we can expect light winds in the morning which will increase to 16 mph winds around 1:00pm in the afternoon. Winds from the W predicted throughout the day.

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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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