Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field OrnithologistsGolden, Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: May 01, 2025 |
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 4 | 4 | 379 |
| Osprey | 1 | 1 | 82 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 1 | 58 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 2 | 345 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 2 | 2 | 295 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 2 | 2 | 265 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 2 | 506 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 1 | 1 | 39 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| American Kestrel | 4 | 4 | 941 |
| 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: | 19 | 19 | 3059 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8.83 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley, Emma Riley, Audrey Anderson |
| Observers: | Janet Peters, Kathie Moses, Laura Hollenbaugh, Natalie Uschner-Arroyo |
Visitors:Thank you to Kathie Moses, Natalie Uschner-Arroyo, Janet Peters, and Laura Hollenbaugh for coming out today! Janet and Natalie came up (bearing lunch-thank you!) to enjoy the last full day this season with both Audrey and Emma counting. Trail activity was slow today with intermittent rain. 11 visitors stopped by 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:Late season continues to see precipitation in the afternoons but luckily it was brief and light today. Winds came predominantly from the NE today at light speeds mostly, with stronger gusts at the end of the day. Verga was seen for most of the day in all directions. The first rainbow of the year was seen just as we were leaving for the day!
Raptor Observations:May 1 marks the beginning of the end of the 2025 season at Dinosaur Ridge, with our final count day being May 10. Migrants have begun tapering out but are still providing us with great looks. We got stellar looks at all of our late-season buteos today, including the Swainson's Hawk and Broad-winged Hawk. Most of our migrants came overhead, varying immensely in the overhead height. Our American Kestrel flights dropped off very suddenly in the last week, but the few that we continue to get in the late afternoon remind us of how incredible this season has been! This April has been our 6th highest April on record! 2000 was the last year with a higher count. This was also our 3rd highest American Kestrel count for April on record.
Non-raptor Observations:Passerines were moving when the count started just after 0800 MST this morning. Yellow-rumped Warbler was the main species seen moving N today. Birds flew through the day in small flocks and as individuals just along the ridge. Other notable species seen today include American White Pelican (15) in 2 groups moving N, Chipping Sparrow (33) seen S along the trail foraging and bathing in a small muddy puddle, and our FOS Hermit Thrush low in a Juniper. White-throated Swift 40, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 2, Double-crested Cormorant 1, American White Pelican 16, Blue Jay 1, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay 1, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 2, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Tree Swallow 1, Violet-green Swallow 28, Rock Wren 1, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 2, Pygmy Nuthatch 1, Western Bluebird 2, Hermit Thrush 1, American Robin 2, House Finch 2, American Goldfinch 2, Chipping Sparrow 34, Song Sparrow 1, Spotted Towhee 4, Western Meadowlark 3, Common Grackle 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 34, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 6
Predictions:Tomorrow and Saturday look to be the last two fully nice days of the season, so come enjoy migration with us! Thunderstorms/precipitation are possible every day after Saturday. Tomorrow is expected to see light winds from the E and sun.
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.orgMore information at
hawkcount.org: [
Site Profile] [
Day Summary] [
Month Summary]
Site DescriptionDinosaur 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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