[cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (03 Mar 2025) 1 Raptors

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

This is a new raptor migration site identified and designated in mid-September 2024. This is Colorado's 1st fall hawk watch site and the state's second spring watch site. Many raptors seen c. 1.5 miles to the West from Dinosaur Ridge, may be directly overhead at this site, we are hoping. To get to the site which is along Lookout Mountain Rd. in Golden, enter either Windy Saddle Park or Mount Zion into Google Maps on your favorite navigation app, or enter the coordinates 39.7368,-105.2454. From the parking lot ascend the stone steps to the watch site. Anyone is welcome to join us if they want to see the spectacle of spring raptor migration, whether they know nothing or know a lot regarding identifying raptor species.

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 03, 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	0	1	1
Northern Harrier	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	0	0
Cooper's Hawk	0	0	0
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	1	8	8
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	0	0
Ferruginous Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	1	5
American Kestrel	0	0	0
Merlin	0	0	0
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Prairie Falcon	0	0	0
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:	1	10	14

Observation start time:	09:30:00
Observation end time:	12:00:00
Total observation time:	2.5 hours
Official Counter	Ajit Antony
Observers:

Weather:
The forecast was for light S to SE to East winds becoming 18+ mph in the afternoon. There were Level 2 winds with frequent gusts to Level 3 from the ESE, then ENE; initial limited visibility to 8 km increasing to 20 km with haziness.

Raptor Observations:
There was only one RT migrating at 11:29 a.m. and was seen at a great distance but in line with the top of one of the antenna on Lookout Mountain. It circled repeatedly, rising and eventually glided northward. It looked like a dark morph, but when it turned , I could see that while its coverts were dark but not black, its body was rufous - an intermediate rufous morph. Non-migrant Raptors: As I was about to leave, I heard a raven croak to the NE, and looking there saw an adult Golden Eagle doing a steep roller coaster flight, which I showed a young couple, who were thrilled. This GE was probably doing a territorial flight toward the raven. It's courtship flight is similar, but there was no other GE around. Many RT sightings, some extremely high at the level of binocular resolution, over Lookout Mountain, perhaps 6.

Non-raptor Observations:
2 paragliders. Mountain Mluebird 5, Mountain Chickadee 1, Common Raven 2, American Crow 3.

Predictions:
Snow

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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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