Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: May 03, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 22 39 397
Osprey 1 6 58
Bald Eagle 2 4 55
Northern Harrier 0 1 31
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 9 86
Cooper's Hawk 6 25 249
Northern Goshawk 0 0 9
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 9 30 155
Red-tailed Hawk 4 17 458
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson's Hawk 6 14 49
Ferruginous Hawk 5 5 59
Golden Eagle 0 2 39
American Kestrel 2 8 366
Merlin 1 4 26
Peregrine Falcon 1 2 20
Prairie Falcon 0 0 5
Mississippi Kite 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 2 13
Unknown Buteo 1 1 6
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 1 3
Total: 63 170 2085
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Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 16:30:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Emma Riley
Observers: Karen Fernandez, Mike Fernandez, Sammy Korengut,
Sammy Korengut
Visitors:
Thank you to Karen & Mike Fernandez and Sammy Korengut for your help
spotting migrants today. We saw 22 visitors at the ridge including long
time visitor and counter Joe who helped spot for about an hour. We also saw
two visitors from Seattle.
Weather:
We had a warm and sunny day with thin cloud cover for most of the day in
areas. Clouds brought precipitation south of us by the end of the day, but
didn’t reach the ridge. Winds were from the E today at mild speeds.
Raptor Observations:
Migration kicked off shortly after arriving this morning with birds below
eye level and just above horizon both east and west of us. We had another
good flight of FH today, typically seen earlier in the season. Eagles also
continue to move, another early migrant. BW continue to move making our
record breaking count even better by the day! We also got to see two
kettles of TV, one 9 and one 7, which is always a treat at our site.
Migration came to almost a halt in the afternoon with a few RT and TV seen.
It wasn’t until the last 30 minutes that we saw our first AK, and the
second as we were leaving. Non-migrant activity was high today with TV (4),
RT (3), SW (1), GE (2), and BE (2).
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor highlights of the day include a WEKI that perched in the burnt
juniper at the site and 2 AMWP that came close. The BGGN could be heard for
most of the day, as well as many of the regulars such as SPTO and ROWR.
Predictions:
Cloudy tomorrow with a chance of precipitation. Winds may be variable but
shouldn’t be too strong. We could see a decent push again.
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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)
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