Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (02 Apr 2024) 41 Raptors
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Apr 2, 2024, 10:39:42 PM4/2/24
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA
Visitors:
Thank you to all of the volunteers that came out today to help spot difficult birds! Most were rewarded with great looks at more than one raptor species. Jim Daily, a former Manzanos HawkWatch counter, and his friend Paul (I didn’t catch a last name) stopped by for a bit and were a great help at spotting birds. We also had two visitors from Maryland, Eloise and Ricky, that came to spend a few hours at the site with us and were fantastic spotters! We saw a total of 18 visitors at the ridge today, including two young kids at the end of the day who were very enthusiastic about the abilities of a spotting scope.
Weather:
The ridge was a winter wonderland this morning covered in snow and ice. The sun quickly melted this cover revealing a classically muddy trail for the rest of the day. Winds were incredibly light for the first half of the day coming from the general SE direction, but switched to NE and picked up in the afternoon. The sky was blue and hazy with little to no cloud cover all day making for challenging spotting conditions. Ajit put it well today- the best parts of Colorado (sunny and blue skies) are often the most challenging aspects of this site!
Raptor Observations:
Migration today started high and finished high with the last bird. The snow illuminated many of our migrants greatly, making for some really interesting views including a very light Merlin that came overhead. Local TV and RT were seen today as well as a local GE escorting a migrant through. We saw a great push of TV today but the highlight of the day was without a doubt a leucistic RT that came directly overhead in the afternoon giving us all an outstanding look.
Non-raptor Observations:
Many of our normal non-raptor species today were seen today including TOSO, DEJU, BUSH, BBMA, CORA, and AMCR. Corvid activity stayed plentiful all day but passerine activity seemed lower than normal. WTSW made a brief appearance today. Elk could be seen near the Mother Cabrini shrine as well as on Green Mountain today.
Predictions:
Looks like we will have another blue sky day tomorrow with winds from the W in the morning and the potential for an E shift. Temperatures are continuing to increase the next few days.
Report submitted by Official Counter (j.f.pe...@gmail.com)
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. American 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 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM from March 1st to May 10th,
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)
Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 02, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 23 | 41 | 71 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 4 | 20 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 2 | 9 | 30 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 9 | 13 | 274 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Golden Eagle | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| American Kestrel | 4 | 9 | 31 |
| Merlin | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 41 | 79 | 505 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley |
| Observers: | Ajit Antony, Chip Dawes, Liza Antony, Pam Moore, Sammy Korengut |
Visitors:
Thank you to all of the volunteers that came out today to help spot difficult birds! Most were rewarded with great looks at more than one raptor species. Jim Daily, a former Manzanos HawkWatch counter, and his friend Paul (I didn’t catch a last name) stopped by for a bit and were a great help at spotting birds. We also had two visitors from Maryland, Eloise and Ricky, that came to spend a few hours at the site with us and were fantastic spotters! We saw a total of 18 visitors at the ridge today, including two young kids at the end of the day who were very enthusiastic about the abilities of a spotting scope.
Weather:
The ridge was a winter wonderland this morning covered in snow and ice. The sun quickly melted this cover revealing a classically muddy trail for the rest of the day. Winds were incredibly light for the first half of the day coming from the general SE direction, but switched to NE and picked up in the afternoon. The sky was blue and hazy with little to no cloud cover all day making for challenging spotting conditions. Ajit put it well today- the best parts of Colorado (sunny and blue skies) are often the most challenging aspects of this site!
Raptor Observations:
Migration today started high and finished high with the last bird. The snow illuminated many of our migrants greatly, making for some really interesting views including a very light Merlin that came overhead. Local TV and RT were seen today as well as a local GE escorting a migrant through. We saw a great push of TV today but the highlight of the day was without a doubt a leucistic RT that came directly overhead in the afternoon giving us all an outstanding look.
Non-raptor Observations:
Many of our normal non-raptor species today were seen today including TOSO, DEJU, BUSH, BBMA, CORA, and AMCR. Corvid activity stayed plentiful all day but passerine activity seemed lower than normal. WTSW made a brief appearance today. Elk could be seen near the Mother Cabrini shrine as well as on Green Mountain today.
Predictions:
Looks like we will have another blue sky day tomorrow with winds from the W in the morning and the potential for an E shift. Temperatures are continuing to increase the next few days.
Report submitted by Official Counter (j.f.pe...@gmail.com)
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. American 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 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM from March 1st to May 10th,
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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