Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 21, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 83 86 Osprey 0 8 8 Bald Eagle 0 2 27 Northern Harrier 0 3 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 30 35 Cooper's Hawk 0 45 60 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 10 100 230 Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 9 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 9 Golden Eagle 0 3 10 American Kestrel 0 57 71 Merlin 0 4 4 Peregrine Falcon 1 2 4 Prairie Falcon 0 1 6 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 1 20 22 Unknown Buteo 0 10 15 Unknown Falcon 0 3 3 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 1 4 8 Total: 14 380 612 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Bill Flowers Observers: David Smith, Doug Smith Visitors: A few hikers and some mountain bike riders were seen. One of the mountain bike riders asked what I was doing and I said Hawk Watching - she indicated that was "cool". Weather: The day was a nice day for Hawk Watching, although the raptors did not cooperate. The day started sunny then clouds moved in in the afternoon with a rain cell moving in just South of Mount Morrison, which affected the migration for a couple hours (12:00-14:00). The temperature ranged from 12-16 C (53-60 F). The wind was light and generally from the East with some periods from the South East. Raptor Observations: A few raptors were observed migrating during the times when it was not raining to the South. These included 10 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 Turkey Vulture, and 1 Peregrine Falcon. In the morning the raptors flew low above Dinosaur Ridge or just to the East of the Ridge. In the afternoon raptors flew very high over Dinosaur and West Ridges. Resident Red-tailed Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, and Turkey Vultures were observed during the day. Non-raptor Observations: Other birds seen or heard included Western Meadowlark, Spotted Towhee, Black-billed Magpie, Western Scrub-jay, Common Raven, American Robin, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Swift, and Broad-tailed Hummingbird. A lizard was also seen at the Hawk Watch site. Predictions: As the weather warms, migration may increase. Tomorrow could be better than today. ======================================================================== 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 unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/20140422045555.23108.qmail%40taiga.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
