Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field OrnithologistsColorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Dec 13, 2022 |
Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Osprey | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 22 |
Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 11 |
American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Total: | 0 | 0 | 78 |
Observation start time: | 10:45:00 |
Observation end time: | 12:45:00 |
Total observation time: | 2 hours |
Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
Observers: | |
Weather:I had been looking for a day with reasonably favorable winds (i.e. without
strong West or NW winds at the Colorado Wyoming border which would push
migrant hawks to the East of Denver and East of the (?) high-pressure zone
around the city) in the past 3 weeks except for one day a few weeks ago
when there were North winds but of course that was the day when we had a
snowstorm.
For the past 5 days I had been watching
earth.nullschool.net and today had
North-based winds predicted. Fortunately there was only a dusting of snow
overnight in Central Park where I live with only very light flurries this
morning, and checking
weather.gov the forecast was for North-based winds at
up to 20 mph with gusts to 31 mph with a high temperature of 31°F with
windchill temperature of 18°F. I checked the I-70 WebCams online and found
there was no snow falling. I had planned on observing from the north end of
the Stegosaurus parking lot which has a view to the north as good as from
the watch, but there were such light winds when I reached that I decided to
go to the top of the ridge.
When I had gotten to the parking lot the winds seemed to be from the SSW
and so it was at the watch on the West of the ridge but walking over to the
East side of the watch the winds were Beaufort level 3-4 from the SE. Such
is Dinosaur Ridge where the forecast for Morrison, CO doesn’t always hold
good.
The last 15 minutes of the watch there were light fine snow flurries which
reduced distant visibility a little.
Raptor Observations:I was hoping to find at least one late migrant of any of the species
GE/RL/GH.
Non-migrant raptors: At 10:59 AM on binocular scanning I found one and
then 2 adult GE soaring over the ridges to the NE with a
higher-than-an-RT-dihedral. One went south and I lost it behind the ridge
and couldn’t find it further south, and the other went North – neither
counted.
Adult RT flying south at the bottom of the ridge to the west.
Non-raptor Observations:Common Raven 3, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay 1, Townsend’s Solitaire flew and
landed near the hawk watch repeatedly and made for good company, American
Robin and Northern Flicker heard only.
A herd of 29 elk grazing on top of the ridge just north of the Mother
Cabrini statue.
Report submitted by DAVID HILL (
)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at:
http://www.dfobirds.orgMore information at
hawkcount.org: [
Site Profile] [
Day Summary] [
Month Summary]
Site DescriptionDinosaur 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)