Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (02 May 2024) 50 Raptors
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May 2, 2024, 11:33:10 PM5/2/24
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA
Visitors:
We had 35 visitors to the ridge today including a guy with a 3-legged dog who was getting around fine and hiking around with him.
Weather:
The wind and clouds picked up as the day went on. Overall there was lots of sunshine, and it was a mild day. There was a Haze all day today and affected our visibility.
Raptor Observations:
Almost all of our migrants were very high, especially before the wind picked up and the sun went behind clouds. We had a Broadwing fly to the southwest after appearing from the south. This bird dove and disappeared around Red Rocks. I didn't see another Broadwing the rest of the day, but I still counted this as a migrant since Broadwings don't nest in the Denver area. One of our migrating Cooper's Hawks was our 2000th bird of the season. Our hawk watch doesn't have the numbers other sites do, but we make up for that with diversity. In local news, one of our Red-tails came up and chased a Cooper's Hawk south. This Cooper's might have migrated, but got scared back to the South. We had one local male Kestrel that caught a mouse and ate it on a telephone pull near us. A different kestrel flew south much later in the day. A Bald Eagle flew Southwest, and a Golden Eagle was attacked by something small, brown, and blurry in the haze. I would guess too small to be a red-tail.
Non-raptor Observations:
We had a Western Kingbird at the ridge today. We also had Blue Jay, Rock Wrens, Mallards, American White Pelicans, and a lot of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Someone also turned thirty today. We only knew that when we saw a big 3 and a big 0 balloon tied together and soar up high in the sky.
Predictions:
Tomorrow should be a warm day with strong winds. The clouds should gather more and more as the day goes on. I expect good migrant activity.
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: May 02, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 13 | 22 | 367 |
| Osprey | 2 | 2 | 52 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 2 | 47 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 4 | 27 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 3 | 102 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 4 | 13 | 209 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 4 | 9 | 123 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 8 | 17 | 440 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 41 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| Golden Eagle | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| American Kestrel | 14 | 45 | 478 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Total: | 50 | 125 | 2009 |
| Observation start time: | 07:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Dustin Kohler |
| Observers: | Dave Erickson, Deborah Hebblewhite, Marianne Erickson |
Visitors:
We had 35 visitors to the ridge today including a guy with a 3-legged dog who was getting around fine and hiking around with him.
Weather:
The wind and clouds picked up as the day went on. Overall there was lots of sunshine, and it was a mild day. There was a Haze all day today and affected our visibility.
Raptor Observations:
Almost all of our migrants were very high, especially before the wind picked up and the sun went behind clouds. We had a Broadwing fly to the southwest after appearing from the south. This bird dove and disappeared around Red Rocks. I didn't see another Broadwing the rest of the day, but I still counted this as a migrant since Broadwings don't nest in the Denver area. One of our migrating Cooper's Hawks was our 2000th bird of the season. Our hawk watch doesn't have the numbers other sites do, but we make up for that with diversity. In local news, one of our Red-tails came up and chased a Cooper's Hawk south. This Cooper's might have migrated, but got scared back to the South. We had one local male Kestrel that caught a mouse and ate it on a telephone pull near us. A different kestrel flew south much later in the day. A Bald Eagle flew Southwest, and a Golden Eagle was attacked by something small, brown, and blurry in the haze. I would guess too small to be a red-tail.
Non-raptor Observations:
We had a Western Kingbird at the ridge today. We also had Blue Jay, Rock Wrens, Mallards, American White Pelicans, and a lot of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Someone also turned thirty today. We only knew that when we saw a big 3 and a big 0 balloon tied together and soar up high in the sky.
Predictions:
Tomorrow should be a warm day with strong winds. The clouds should gather more and more as the day goes on. I expect good migrant activity.
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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