Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 15, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 10 51 58 Osprey 2 5 6 Bald Eagle 0 4 37 Northern Harrier 1 2 5 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 13 25 Cooper's Hawk 6 36 49 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 6 93 253 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 2 Swainson's Hawk 1 1 1 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 10 Golden Eagle 0 1 13 American Kestrel 9 60 92 Merlin 0 0 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Prairie Falcon 0 5 14 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 1 15 15 Unknown Buteo 0 10 24 Unknown Falcon 0 11 13 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 3 Total: 38 307 622 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Cynthia Madsen Observers: Joe Lupfer, Karen Clark, Michael Kiessig, Tom Ryon Visitors: Chris Tremeling assisted us from 12:30 until 2:30, and Rob R., a Volunteer with Jefferson County Open Space helped spot from 1 until 2 (MST). My sincere thanks to all the volunteers on the ridge today. You did an awesome job! Weather: What a difference a day makes! However, we could have used an anchor as part of our gear today. Hats were flying and binoculars were shaking as we were buffeted by relentless winds of 20 to 30 miles per hours out of the north west. Cloud cover was less than 10 percent and visibility was good except for a haze toward the north and the south. Raptor Observations: We had a nice number of raptors despite the winds. We did see our first Swainson's Hawk today and 3 Osprey...what a treat! However, one of the Osprey turned back south just as we were marking it in the "Go" column. It may be the same one seen earlier this week who just can't quite make up its mind. Local raptors seen were 2 Turkey Vultures, 2 Cooper's Hawks, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 4 Red-tailed Hawks and 1 American Kestrel. Except for a few against the west ridge, all were easily seen, but moving fast. Non-raptor Observations: Other birds on the ridge today were 1 Common Raven, 10 White-throated Swifts, 2 Scrub Jays, 1 Great Blue Heron, 5 Northern Flickers, 1 Western Meadowlark, 2 American Crows, 1 Townsend Solitaire, and 2 Black-capped Chickadees. There were 4 mule deer peacefully grazing on the east side of the ridge. ======================================================================== 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.
