Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 01, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 1 1 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 0 1 Northern Harrier 0 0 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1 7 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 3 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 1 74 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 2 Golden Eagle 0 0 3 American Kestrel 2 2 21 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 3 Prairie Falcon 0 0 2 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 3 3 7 Unknown Buteo 0 0 3 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Total: 8 8 131 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Bill Wuerthele, Roger Rouch Observers: Rob Reilly, Roger Rouch Visitors: There was little foot/bike traffic on the trail, and no one stopped by to inquire about HawkWatch. Observers Roger Rouch and Rob Reilly spent several hours on the Ridge helping to spot and identify raptors. Weather: The day was mild (temperatures in the high 60s throughout), with light winds in the morning (1 bft) becoming stronger in the afternoon (3 bft with gusts to 4 - 5 bft by the end of the observation period). Although somewhat variable, winds were generally from the northwest, especially the stronger winds in the afternoon. Scattered cumulus clouds at the beginning of the observation period continued to build throughout the morning, with 90% cover by 11:00 am. Visibility was good throughout the day. Raptor Observations: It was a quiet day on the Ridge, with a total of eight migrants - one Red-tailed Hawk, one Sharp-shinned Hawk, two American Kestrels, one Turkey Vulture (FOS) and three unidentified Accipiters. There was no noticeable pattern or grouping to today’s movement, with sightings scattered throughout the day. For example, the unidentified Accipiters came by west of the Ridge, all very high up and about an hour apart. Local Red-tailed Hawks were observed numerous times during the day, south of the Ridge, over West Ridge and over Cabrini. Local American Kestrels were seen several times during the afternoon, with a male in a territorial/pair bonding dive display on one occasion. In the morning, a Turkey Vulture was seen soaring well south of the Ridge, showing no sign of northward movement. The Turkey Vulture counted as a migrant, on the other hand, was spotted several hours later, high above West Ridge going strongly north. Non-raptor Observations: Common Ravens were a constant throughout the day. Also seen or heard were: American Crow, Black-billed Magpie, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Northern Flicker, Spotted Towhee, Mountain Chickadee, American Robin, Western Meadowlark, Western Scrub-Jay, and Townsend’s Solitaire. ======================================================================== 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/20150402032010.11965.qmail%40taiga.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
