Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (12 Sep 2022) 1 Raptors
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Sep 12, 2022, 10:02:23 PM9/12/22
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA
Weather:
Initially cool, then hot. The prediction was for winds from the WNW>N>NE by the afternoon, but within one half hour the wind had changed from NNW to East but very light, temperature 19-23°C, humidity 30>22%, clear visibility only 2.5 km (double peak was hazy), cloud cover 15>55%. Earth.nullschool.net had indicated short-distance West winds at the surface level for many hours. I was remembering that in New York the best flights come after the passage of a cold front, and looking up a meteorological map I found that the nearest cold front was in northern Montana close to the Canadian border. https://tinyurl.com/bdey4fuz. Perhaps we need to wait a few weeks and see if any cold fronts come through the area. It felt like late summer today rather than fall.
Raptor Observations:
The 1st and only migrant was an adult Swainson's Hawk found by binocular scanning at 8:34 AM EST to the NNE, for a short while it was just visible to the naked eye and I was able to find it in my 20-60x scope to ascertain its age – I could see a dark bib with an absence of distal duskiness of the tail (present in immatures). It flew to the East but quite high and I switched to binoculars with which I couldn't find it at all against the perfectly blue sky, but I was able to find it a few minutes later high and to the south. TV 5, RT 3 – seen at one time.
Non-raptor Observations:
White-breasted Nuthatch and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher both flyovers, Barn Swallow 4, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 2, Common Raven 3 together. A personal first for me at the watch – I was able to walk without stopping all the way to the watch from the parking lot, taking 17 minutes where up to now I had had to stop 4-5 times for my muscles to stop hurting (carrying around 30 pounds of equipment) and taking a few minutes longer. I'm acclimatizing to the elevation in the past 2 months coming from New York State.
Report submitted by DAVID HILL ()
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: http://www.dfobirds.org
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
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 small signs from the
southwest end of lot to the 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.
(Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain: 259 feet)
Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 12, 2022 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 11:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 3 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: |
Weather:
Initially cool, then hot. The prediction was for winds from the WNW>N>NE by the afternoon, but within one half hour the wind had changed from NNW to East but very light, temperature 19-23°C, humidity 30>22%, clear visibility only 2.5 km (double peak was hazy), cloud cover 15>55%. Earth.nullschool.net had indicated short-distance West winds at the surface level for many hours. I was remembering that in New York the best flights come after the passage of a cold front, and looking up a meteorological map I found that the nearest cold front was in northern Montana close to the Canadian border. https://tinyurl.com/bdey4fuz. Perhaps we need to wait a few weeks and see if any cold fronts come through the area. It felt like late summer today rather than fall.
Raptor Observations:
The 1st and only migrant was an adult Swainson's Hawk found by binocular scanning at 8:34 AM EST to the NNE, for a short while it was just visible to the naked eye and I was able to find it in my 20-60x scope to ascertain its age – I could see a dark bib with an absence of distal duskiness of the tail (present in immatures). It flew to the East but quite high and I switched to binoculars with which I couldn't find it at all against the perfectly blue sky, but I was able to find it a few minutes later high and to the south. TV 5, RT 3 – seen at one time.
Non-raptor Observations:
White-breasted Nuthatch and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher both flyovers, Barn Swallow 4, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 2, Common Raven 3 together. A personal first for me at the watch – I was able to walk without stopping all the way to the watch from the parking lot, taking 17 minutes where up to now I had had to stop 4-5 times for my muscles to stop hurting (carrying around 30 pounds of equipment) and taking a few minutes longer. I'm acclimatizing to the elevation in the past 2 months coming from New York State.
Report submitted by DAVID HILL ()
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: http://www.dfobirds.org
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
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 small signs from the
southwest end of lot to the 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.
(Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain: 259 feet)
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