Dinosaur RidgeColorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 31, 2013 |
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 27 | 27 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 8 | 8 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 11 | 11 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 4 | 134 | 134 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| American Kestrel | 4 | 22 | 22 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 14 | 14 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Total: | 14 | 261 | 261 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Francis Commercon, Julia Auckland, Rob Reilly |
Visitors:Mid-morning we received a short visit from David Gulbenkian. He has been visiting HawkWatch for many years. There were many other visitors, including a number of families, some with children. Nearly all inquired as to what we were doing. Many were very interested and mentioned the raptors they had seen recently. A number asked some good questions including where we send the data and how it might be used, when is the peak of migration, and what distance do raptors migrate. We used the Swainson's Hawk as an example to answer the last question. One family of three came especially for HawkWatch. Another family was already somewhat familiar with HawkWatch and RMBO; they were interested to hear we were possibly considering a Fall HawkWatch similar to those they knew about back East.
Weather:The weather was warm and sunny with zero percent cloud cover until a few small, scattered clouds developed in mid-afternoon. Good visibility. Winds were variable; mild winds from the West in the morning turned to steady winds (2 and 3 B with occasional gusts to 4 B) from the East then the North starting at 12:30pm MST.
Raptor Observations:About half of the day's migrants passed very close to the Ridge and most of these occurred in the 90 minutes after the wind began to blow more strongly and steadily from the North. Highlights included a dark-morph RLHA migrant which passed high over the Ridge in the morning and an adult COHA migrant which passed at eye-level close to the Ridge on the East side in the afternoon.
Non-raptor Observations:
Also seen or heard were: Western Meadowlark, American Robin, Mountain Bluebird, Northern Flicker, Western Scrub-Jay, American Crow, Mountain Chickadee, Common Raven, Black-billed Magpie, Bushtits, Black-capped Chickadee, Western Bluebird, White-throated Swift. Three mule deer were also spotted on the slopes below WestRidge.
Predictions:Weather is predicted to be colder with precipitation in the late afternoon or evening, so perhaps migrants will be observed more in the mid-morning hours.
Report submitted by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (
jeff.birek@rmbo.org)
Dinosaur Ridge information may be found at:
http://www.rmbo.org/Site DescriptionDinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawkwatch in Colorado and is the
best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Dinosaur Ridge may
be the best place in the country to see the rare dark morph of the Broad-winged
Hawk (a few are seen each spring). Hawkwatchers who linger long enough may see
resident Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks and Prairie Falcons, in addition to
migrating Swainson's, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels and
Turkey Vultures. Peregrine Falcons and Ferruginous Hawks are uncommon; Northern
Goshawk is rare but regular. Non-raptor species include Rock Wren, and sometimes
Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane, White-throated Swift, American White
Pelican or Dusky Grouse. Birders are always welcome.
The hawkwatch is generally staffed by volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Bird
Observatory from about 9 AM to around 4 PM from the first week of March to the
first week of 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 small signs from the south
side of lot to hawkwatch 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, head through the gate, and walk to
the clearly-visible, flat area at the crest of the ridge.
