Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 21, 2023 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 26 206 221 Osprey 2 23 25 Bald Eagle 0 17 48 Northern Harrier 1 8 19 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 37 45 Cooper's Hawk 4 126 144 Northern Goshawk 0 1 8 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 1 8 8 Red-tailed Hawk 5 101 388 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 4 4 Ferruginous Hawk 0 7 47 Golden Eagle 0 6 32 American Kestrel 33 187 247 Merlin 1 6 16 Peregrine Falcon 1 3 8 Prairie Falcon 0 0 5 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 1 2 5 Unknown Buteo 0 1 2 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 2 Total: 76 744 1275 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Emma Riley Observers: Amy Walsh, Sammy Korengut, Trista Hertz Visitors: Thank you to Amy Walsh, Sammy Korengut, and Trista Hertz for volunteering to help spot and ID migrating raptors today! Dave Hill brought up a group of DFO birders this morning and they spent the full morning with us. It was great to share this site with local birders and we hope to see some of them in the future. We had a total of 33 visitors at the ridge today including the DFO group. Weather: We had a chilly day on the ridge today with temperatures below 10 degrees celsius and heavy cloud cover. Winds varied between E and W throughout the day, and only reached moderate speeds in some gusts in the late afternoon. We did see very light snow at the end of the day and could see precipitation almost 360 degrees around us. Raptor Observations: Migration started out slow today with 6 birds counted before 1100 MST, but the 1400 hour kicked off a great push of mainly TV and AK in the afternoon. We extended the count by 30 minutes to catch more AK moving late in the day. Highlights today include an OS that stopped to eat a fish it was flying with, a low and close ML that we were actually able to ID based on plumage, and the overall nice push at the end of the day. Non-migrant activity was very high today with PG, RT (3), TV (4), GE (2), and three BE that all came incredibly close to the ridge giving us really outstanding looks at these birds. Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptor highlights today include MOBL (2) and 2 BBMA that came right along the ridge. We continue to see many of the regulars including WTSW and SPTO. Full lists for the day can be seen on eBird. Predictions: Winds are predicted to be from the E tomorrow with some nice cloud cover. Snow may be on the ridge tomorrow but will most likely melt through the day. ======================================================================== Report submitted by DAVID HILL () Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: http://www.dfobirds.org More site information at hawkcount.org: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=123 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/denver-field-ornithologists/dinosaur-ridge-spring-2023 Site Description: Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawk watch in Colorado and is the best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Hawk watchers may see 17 species of migrating raptors; and it is an excellent site to see rare dark morph buteos including Broad-winged hawk, Swainson’s hawk, Ferruginous hawk, Rough-legged hawk and Red-tailed Hawk. Other raptors we see include Golden and Bald Eagles, Northern harrier, Osprey, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Merlin, and Turkey Vultures. Northern Goshawk is uncommon but also counted each season. Non-raptor species include Rock Wren, Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane, White-throated Swift, American White Pelican, and Dusky Grouse. Birders of any skill level are always welcome. The hawk watch at Dinosaur Ridge is staffed by a Hawk Counter and volunteers from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM from March 1st to May 14th, weather permitting. 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 hawk watch signs from the southwest end of the parking lot to the hawk watch 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, and walk to the flat area at the crest of the ridge. (Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain: 259 feet) -- -- 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 For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- 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. 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