Golden, Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: May 08, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 6 | 381 |
| Osprey | 1 | 4 | 85 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 2 | 46 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 3 | 60 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 12 | 355 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 12 | 305 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 10 | 273 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 9 | 513 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 1 | 7 | 45 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| American Kestrel | 2 | 13 | 950 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Short-eared Owl | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total: | 6 | 78 | 3118 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley |
| Observers: | Chip Dawes, Jim Lowe |
Visitors:
*Our apologies in the delayed report email!* Thank you to Chip Dawes for volunteering as a spotter today! It is always a pleasure having you on the ridge. We also had a visit from Jim Lowe. Jim is from Minnesota, and our counter Emma met him when she was working at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in 2021. He spent the morning looking for migrants with us and catching up! It's always great to see familiar faces on the ridge. Despite the nice weather, the trail was pretty empty. 9 people stopped by the ridge today to check out the count board and ask a question or two.
Weather:
The rain finally lifted today, leaving clear blue skies behind it for most of the day. The sun was strong and temperatures rised quickly. Some precipitation could be seen W and SE of us late in the day, but we only felt a few gusts of wind from the W in it all.
Raptor Observations:
We hoped to see a bigger push of migrants today after the storm but alas. After having such a fantastic season it is proving difficult to accept the end of it! We did have a few migrants, including a juvenile Swainson's Hawk that came low overhead. An Osprey also came by W of us in the afternoon. Local Red-tailed Hawks and Turkey Vultures continue to dominate the skies, especially in the nicer weather. Birds were active from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. Most birds were seen soaring or actively hunting while kiting or from a perch. Four Coopers Hawks were all seen circling around the Apex Houses before flying directly SW. Unusual (for this site) CH activity continues!
Non-raptor Observations:
Passerine movement was also a bit slower than expected yesterday, but we got started later than we would have liked to. We did have four sightings of a Western Kingbird throughout the day, with all of four of them moving N! One did perch in a nearby snag for a moment before continuing on. In the last hour of the day we had group after group of White-throated Swifts fly N directly overhead. White-throated Swift 61, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 2, American White Pelican 8, Western Kingbird 4, Black-billed Magpie 2, Common Raven 1, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Tree Swallow 14, Violet-green Swallow 34, Barn Swallow 1, Cliff Swallow 10, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 3, American Robin 3, House Finch 2, Spotted Towhee 3, Western Meadowlark 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 1, passerine sp. 1
Predictions:
Conditions look good for a small push of migrants if there are any left in the area. Jeff Birek will be counting tomorrow! Jeff has worked as the volunteer coordinator for Dinosaur Ridge when Bird Conservancy of the Rockies was managing this site. He's an excellent hawk watcher and biologist, so come say hi to him!
Report submitted by Official Counter of the day shown above (dinoridgehw@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]
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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