Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 29, 2019
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 104 105
Osprey 1 25 25
Bald Eagle 0 6 18
Northern Harrier 1 8 9
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 46 55
Cooper's Hawk 3 88 94
Northern Goshawk 0 3 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 12 12
Red-tailed Hawk 2 223 316
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson's Hawk 0 9 9
Ferruginous Hawk 0 6 10
Golden Eagle 0 8 11
American Kestrel 3 51 56
Merlin 0 1 1
Peregrine Falcon 0 4 4
Prairie Falcon 0 4 4
Mississippi Kite 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 11 14
Unknown Buteo 0 4 9
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 1 3
Unknown Raptor 0 9 12
Total: 10 623 770
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Joyce Commercon
Observers:
Visitors:
A pair of hikers came to the platform for the view and a photo. Several
bikers and a few hikers and joggers were on the trail today.
Weather:
The day was chilly and completely overcast. Winds were predominately from
the east at bft 3. The view was generally very good except for the
10-11:00am MST hour when visibility dropped for a while to about 5-6 km
toward the south due to apparent snow showers; only very light snow fell at
the HawkWatch platform. Temperatures rose from 1 C to 5 C.
Raptor Observations:
The travel paths of today's migrants were about evenly split between
Dinosaur Ridge itself and the western ridges. The most notable pattern
evident today was that the few migrants coming through were avoiding the
snow showers along the foothills. No raptors migrated past the platform for
about a two-hour window which included the period of time (10-11:00am MST)
that snow fell to the south, west, and north.
An early morning Osprey traveled the western ridges north. The American
Kestrels and an adult Cooper's Hawk moved past close enough to the Ridge
for good views. The last migrant counted was a nice Northern Harrier, with
a lanky silhouette, gliding high, northward, directly over the Ridge.
A local Golden Eagle was seen early in the morning, circling near the
Lookout Mountain Towers. Local Red-tailed Hawks were observed hunting near
Cabrini and in Rooney Valley, alternately coasting low or perch-hunting
from trees or poles. A few local Turkey Vultures were also out and about.
Non-raptor Observations:
Very little Spotted Towhee singing was heard today, but those in the area
did do a fair amount of whining, perhaps unhappy with the weather. A
Broad-tailed Hummingbird, that had been heard ringing up and down the
Ridge, was finally seen as he zipped across the platform near the end of
the watch. A Rock Wren also made a few shy appearances. Also seen or heard
were Common Raven, Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-billed Magpie,
Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, Mourning Dove, American Robin, and Western
Meadowlark.
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Report submitted by Matthew Smith (matt.sm...@birdconservancy.org)
Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at:
http://www.birdconservancy.org/
More site information at hawkcount.org:
http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=123
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.
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