Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 30, 2013 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 147 156 Osprey 0 21 22 Bald Eagle 0 2 29 Northern Harrier 0 5 6 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 89 97 Cooper's Hawk 1 99 110 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 33 33 Red-tailed Hawk 5 96 230 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 6 Swainson's Hawk 0 6 6 Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 9 Golden Eagle 1 7 10 American Kestrel 7 129 151 Merlin 0 3 3 Peregrine Falcon 0 13 14 Prairie Falcon 0 3 17 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 32 36 Unknown Buteo 0 24 33 Unknown Falcon 9 16 16 Unknown Eagle 0 1 1 Unknown Raptor 0 13 16 Total: 28 740 1001 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Paul Slingsby Observers: Heather Jackson, Jim Banks Visitors: There were several hikers, including a very young girl who enjoyed trying to use binoculars. Visitor, Justin Dee of Vail, was very helpful in spotting and identifying raptors, 11:00 to 12:00. Visitor, Paul Walker, who is a volunteer at the Dinosaur Visitor Center and a raptor nest monitor at Chatfield was also helpful, 11:00 to 12:00 Weather: Sunny during the first 2 hours, then 100% cloudy with very flat light. Temperature was nearly constant, 10 deg. C to 12.5 deg. C. Wind ranged 10 mph to nearly 20 mph. It began to sprinkle at 15:00 Raptor Observations: Nearly all raptors sighted were soaring until high at the south end of Dinosaur Ridge and gliding very high going north along the ridge. Most identifications were based on silhouettes with little or no color pattern seen. There are therefore many unidentified falcons which may have been either Prairie Falcon or Peregrine Falcon. Non-raptor Observations: 1 American Robin, 3 male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, 4 Scrub Jays, over 20 White-throated Swifts, about 20 Violet-green Swallows, 4 Black-billed Magpies (one was a fledgling, 1 Hairy Woodpecker (intermountain w), 2 Spotted Towhees, 3 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Common Ravens, 2 Western Meadowlarks. Thirty-eight White-faced Ibis migrated north along Rooney road, then veered east. Predictions: Too wet for raptors to migrate or hawkwatchers to watch. ======================================================================== 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. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
