Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (10 Apr 2024) 51 Raptors
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Apr 10, 2024, 11:03:07 PM4/10/24
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA
Visitors:
Thank you to all of the volunteers that came out today, it got cold at the end but I think we can all agree it was an interesting day! We had 16 visitors to the ridge today including Orion (forgive me if I’m getting that wrong) with USFWS for the second time. Many visitors asked about the flight and got to see some raptors come very close!
Weather:
We got some relief from the blue skies today with cloud cover first thing in the morning. Winds were light from the N first thing and varied between NE and NW for most of the day. In the afternoon winds picked up considerably, reaching speeds of 20+ mph.
Raptor Observations:
Migration started off strong this morning with a good little push of CH and RT. Jim Banks arrived at the site before I did and had a number of birds already counted as well, so thank you! We had our typical lunchtime lull and when the winds picked up I was nervous our flight would stay quiet but boy was I wrong! We had an outstanding show of AK coming one after the other directly, and I mean directly, over our heads. Birds were flying below eye level to about 5 meters above us. Today was a great example of why this site is so special. What we may lack in numbers we make up for in diversity and flights (sometimes). We had AK, PG, OS, RT, SW, and CH all come in the afternoon in the strong winds. Local raptor activity was also very interesting today with a SS potentially roosting along the ridge for the night after getting blown around in the winds like a piece of plastic. RT, TV and BE locals were all seen. The day ended with three RT all interacting for 20+ minutes. All three birds were adults. They spent this time diving around with each other, not displaying any aggression. One of these birds had a prey item in its talons while diving, which was the first time I’d ever seen that. We spent the time speculating on the relationship between the three birds and getting incredible looks at their stooping abilities.
Non-raptor Observations:
Passerine activity was great today with SPTO and ROWR heard almost constantly all day. As usual the corvids were out to play today, but were surprisingly absent in the high winds. The weirdest observation of the day, without a doubt, was a cow elk missing its back left foot. I spotted her hobbling through Matthew-Winters park late morning and quickly saw why that was. As I called CPW we saw JeffCo rangers looking at the animal so knew they had been made aware of the situation. We didn’t see CPW come out today so we will be interested to see if they do and what they decide to do with her.
Predictions:
It looks like we will be back to staring into the blue abyss tomorrow with little to no cloud cover predicted. Winds are predicted to come from the NE, bringing a hopefully great flight! We hope to see you up at the ridge as we head into the peak of the migration.
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 10, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 2 | 129 | 159 |
| Osprey | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 5 | 35 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 14 | 30 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 10 | 44 | 65 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 12 | 74 | 335 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 4 | 15 |
| American Kestrel | 21 | 99 | 121 |
| Merlin | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 51 | 402 | 828 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley |
| Observers: | Chip Dawes, Clay Gibson, Gary Rossmiller, Jim Banks, Marirosa Donisi |
Visitors:
Thank you to all of the volunteers that came out today, it got cold at the end but I think we can all agree it was an interesting day! We had 16 visitors to the ridge today including Orion (forgive me if I’m getting that wrong) with USFWS for the second time. Many visitors asked about the flight and got to see some raptors come very close!
Weather:
We got some relief from the blue skies today with cloud cover first thing in the morning. Winds were light from the N first thing and varied between NE and NW for most of the day. In the afternoon winds picked up considerably, reaching speeds of 20+ mph.
Raptor Observations:
Migration started off strong this morning with a good little push of CH and RT. Jim Banks arrived at the site before I did and had a number of birds already counted as well, so thank you! We had our typical lunchtime lull and when the winds picked up I was nervous our flight would stay quiet but boy was I wrong! We had an outstanding show of AK coming one after the other directly, and I mean directly, over our heads. Birds were flying below eye level to about 5 meters above us. Today was a great example of why this site is so special. What we may lack in numbers we make up for in diversity and flights (sometimes). We had AK, PG, OS, RT, SW, and CH all come in the afternoon in the strong winds. Local raptor activity was also very interesting today with a SS potentially roosting along the ridge for the night after getting blown around in the winds like a piece of plastic. RT, TV and BE locals were all seen. The day ended with three RT all interacting for 20+ minutes. All three birds were adults. They spent this time diving around with each other, not displaying any aggression. One of these birds had a prey item in its talons while diving, which was the first time I’d ever seen that. We spent the time speculating on the relationship between the three birds and getting incredible looks at their stooping abilities.
Non-raptor Observations:
Passerine activity was great today with SPTO and ROWR heard almost constantly all day. As usual the corvids were out to play today, but were surprisingly absent in the high winds. The weirdest observation of the day, without a doubt, was a cow elk missing its back left foot. I spotted her hobbling through Matthew-Winters park late morning and quickly saw why that was. As I called CPW we saw JeffCo rangers looking at the animal so knew they had been made aware of the situation. We didn’t see CPW come out today so we will be interested to see if they do and what they decide to do with her.
Predictions:
It looks like we will be back to staring into the blue abyss tomorrow with little to no cloud cover predicted. Winds are predicted to come from the NE, bringing a hopefully great flight! We hope to see you up at the ridge as we head into the peak of the migration.
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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