Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 14, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 4 41 48 Osprey 0 3 4 Bald Eagle 1 4 37 Northern Harrier 0 1 4 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 11 23 Cooper's Hawk 2 30 43 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 87 247 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 2 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 10 Golden Eagle 0 1 13 American Kestrel 3 51 83 Merlin 0 0 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 2 5 14 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 2 14 14 Unknown Buteo 0 10 24 Unknown Falcon 0 11 13 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 3 Total: 17 269 584 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Cynthia Madsen Observers: Cyndy Johnson, Joel Chapa Weather: Times are adjusted for MST. The ridge had a light dusting of snow to begin the day and was completely shrouded in clouds with visibility less than 100 feet in any direction. The wind was blowing from the north at about 10 mph. These condition remained until 11:00 when spots of visibility would appear and then disappear as the cloud shifted. By 12:00 conditions improved dramatically. Raptor Observations: No raptors were seen before 11:00. When the raptors began flying, most of them were at eye level or below on both sides of the ridge. Local raptors seen were a Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 Turkey Vultures, and 2 Red-tailed Hawks, one of whom landed in a juniper on the east side. We also had several wonderful high-flying displays by 2 Cooper's Hawks. The best for the day, however, was an immature Golden Eagle who first flew very low on the east side and then soared high southeast of Green Mountain...textbook perfect...3 point of white! Non-raptor Observations: The only birds seen flying in the fog were the Western Bluebirds. We saw 2 flocks of 20+. It's possible that one of these could be a repeat, but difficult to tell in those conditions. Also seen/heard were 2 Western Meadowlarks, 2 Western Scrub Jays, 4 Common Ravens, 2 Northern Flickers, 2 American Robins, 1 Townsend Solitaire, and 2 American Crows. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (jeff.bi...@rmbo.org) Dinosaur Ridge information may be found at: http://www.rmbo.org/ Site Description: Dinosaur 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. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
