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. EVERYONE IS WELCONE TO THE HAWK WATCH TO ENJOY THE SPECTACLE OF RAPTOR MIGRATION, EVEN IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IDENTIFYING RAPTORS IN FLIGHT.
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 01, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Golden Eagle | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 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 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 5 | 5 | 74 |
| Observation start time: | 08:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
Two groups of women asked what I was doing, a trail runner asked whether I'd seen any birds, and when I said I hadn't, he confidently reassured me "They will come."
Weather:
The forecast was for NW winds at 15 mph with gusts to 30 mph, but there was constant wind at the watch from the West at Level 5 until the last 1.5 hours; thick overcast resulting in a poor Soaring Forecast of only 0.3 m/s with thermals up to 5,710 ft above ground level, and which would be blown apart with the strong winds; fair visibility. The winds aloft predicted by earth.nullschool.net was it 35 km/h r from the SW, rather different from the surface prediction. Virga all day in many directions, some fairly close. I had an insight - that it's easier to see virga tangentially against a lighter gray background as irregular streamers falling down, but when they are overhead against gray skies, it's close to impossible to see them, but knowing this fact I could see them as wavy slightly grayer lines.
Raptor Observations:
Interestingly, when the strong wind subsided, so did the raptor flight. The first migrant was a Cooper's Hawk at 9:56 a.m. MDT. One migrant GE at 10:37 a.m. was seen in the at a distance; the second one came from the south quite low and dropped to the North End of North Table Mountain, and I thought it was one of the nesting pair, but it then rose and went North. Non-migrant raptors:1. 10:23 a.m. Prairie Falcon flying south, sandy back and tail confirmed with a scope. 2. An American Crow harassing an adult GE 50 m NE, it flew SW along Clear Creek Canyon, then went West. 3. 11:42 a.m. BE adult going SW. 4. 11:55 a.m. subadult IV BE with a narrow black termimal tail band. 5. GE adult kiting, remaining almost motionless along the North face of Lookout Mountain, then landing on a rock. 6. 12:00 p.m. pale bluish-backed adult male Richardson's/Prairie ML going south seen against the trees on Lookout Mountain. 7. 12:52 p.m. adult GE at the peak of Lookout Mountain with an RT. 8. Adult GE going south, perched on the microwave tower for a few seconds before dropping. 9. 1:16 p.m. adult GE to the West circling and rising missing a first left secondary feather, flying south. 10. TV well north of Green Mountain, flew South going west of Green Mountain. 11. RT 4. 12. SS going south.
Non-raptor Observations:
Townsend Solitaire 1, Western Bluebird 5 flyby.
Predictions:
Similar to today.
Report submitted by Ajit Antony (aiantony@earthlink.net)
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