Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 21, 2016 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 1 1 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 8 8 Northern Harrier 0 2 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 2 2 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 5 136 136 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 1 2 2 Golden Eagle 0 1 1 American Kestrel 2 8 8 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 1 3 3 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 2 2 Unknown Buteo 2 10 10 Unknown Falcon 0 4 4 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 2 Total: 11 182 182 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:45:00 Observation end time: 14:30:00 Total observation time: 6.75 hours Official Counter: Joyce Commercon Observers: Visitors: Several hikers, some families with children, and bikers were on the trails today. A number came up for the view and most inquired about the watch. Weather: It was a pleasant, semi-sunny day with 70-80% cloud-cover, which was somewhat thin in places at times. The light, patchy snow covering the ridges and valleys melted somewhat as temperatures rose. Light winds (bft 2 or less) came from the west initially but shifted early in the morning, continuing from the east. Temperatures ranged from 9 to 17 C (48 to 63 F). Raptor Observations: The bulk of the migrant activity occurred during the 10:00am MST hour when several small groups of raptors circled up in the growing warmth of the day. The highlight of this busy hour was a dark-morph Ferruginous Hawk migrant (of unknown age). A second “raptor” highlight of the day was a local Peregrine Falcon that was seen at eyelevel, heading south over the west valley. Non-raptor Observations: A Brown Creeper moved north through the HawkWatch platform at noon. Several male Western Bluebirds hung around the ridge for a large part of the day, kept company by a fair number of Bushtits, as well as a group of 5 or 6 Townsend’s Solitaires, that often flitted up and down the Ridge. A dozen elk were observed below Cabrini Shrine in the morning. Also seen or heard were Western Meadowlark, Northern Flicker, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Western Scrub-Jay, American Robin, Rock Pigeon, a rabbit and a mule deer. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (jeff.bi...@birdconservancy.org) Dinosaur Ridge information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.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 Bird Conservancy of the Rockies from about 9 AM to around 3 PM from March 1st to May 7th. 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/20ca95c0bc21d3227f3b89285f9738b5%40www.hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
