Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (02 May 2023) 71 Raptors
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May 2, 2023, 6:42:13 PM5/2/23
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA
Visitors:
Thanks very much to Janet, who left a red-necked grebe on her field trip to help me on the ridge. She arrived in record time. Several visitors stopped by today including Ed Imatani and Barbara Banks. Matt Lee and his dog spent several hours on the ridge and was a great help with spotting and identifying birds. He and Janet had lots of aircraft topics to discuss.
Weather:
Weather today was very pleasant, comfortable temperatures, good cloud cover, and a light breeze from the SE. The haze was very heavy leaving clear visibility at six km. Winds shifted to the NE in the 1200 hour. Storms began developing with the wind shift, eventually producing precipitation to the west and south of the ridge. We ended the count early due to threat of rain and thunderstorms.
Raptor Observations:
I arrived a bit early to quiet skies for the first twenty minutes then the flow of migrants began. Birds flew along the western ridge, directly overhead, and eye level on the east. Small kettles formed of TV and BW west and over the ridge. I had no observer helping me and the volume of birds moving kept me busy for more than two hours. It is likely I missed some of the migrants while identifying the rest. I’m not sure what changed but just when help arrived, the flight slowed.
Non-raptor Observations:
Bullock’s Oriole was the star of the passerine show today, along with displaying spotted towhees and a rock wren. We located elk grazing on Green Mountain. We had two interesting aircraft, including a Kmax helicopter working long line transports at Matthew’s-Winters Park.
Predictions:
Tomorrow weather is predicted to be warmer with a possibility of storms in the afternoon.
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]
Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: May 02, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 14 | 17 | 375 |
| Osprey | 4 | 5 | 57 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 2 | 53 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 31 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 5 | 6 | 83 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 7 | 19 | 243 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 19 | 21 | 146 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 6 | 13 | 454 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 7 | 8 | 43 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 54 |
| Golden Eagle | 1 | 2 | 39 |
| American Kestrel | 2 | 6 | 364 |
| Merlin | 2 | 3 | 25 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Total: | 71 | 107 | 2022 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:45:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Carol Cwiklinski |
| Observers: | Janet Peters |
Visitors:
Thanks very much to Janet, who left a red-necked grebe on her field trip to help me on the ridge. She arrived in record time. Several visitors stopped by today including Ed Imatani and Barbara Banks. Matt Lee and his dog spent several hours on the ridge and was a great help with spotting and identifying birds. He and Janet had lots of aircraft topics to discuss.
Weather:
Weather today was very pleasant, comfortable temperatures, good cloud cover, and a light breeze from the SE. The haze was very heavy leaving clear visibility at six km. Winds shifted to the NE in the 1200 hour. Storms began developing with the wind shift, eventually producing precipitation to the west and south of the ridge. We ended the count early due to threat of rain and thunderstorms.
Raptor Observations:
I arrived a bit early to quiet skies for the first twenty minutes then the flow of migrants began. Birds flew along the western ridge, directly overhead, and eye level on the east. Small kettles formed of TV and BW west and over the ridge. I had no observer helping me and the volume of birds moving kept me busy for more than two hours. It is likely I missed some of the migrants while identifying the rest. I’m not sure what changed but just when help arrived, the flight slowed.
Non-raptor Observations:
Bullock’s Oriole was the star of the passerine show today, along with displaying spotted towhees and a rock wren. We located elk grazing on Green Mountain. We had two interesting aircraft, including a Kmax helicopter working long line transports at Matthew’s-Winters Park.
Predictions:
Tomorrow weather is predicted to be warmer with a possibility of storms in the afternoon.
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]
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