Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field OrnithologistsColorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: May 09, 2024 |
Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Turkey Vulture | 4 | 49 | 394 |
Osprey | 0 | 3 | 53 |
Bald Eagle | 0 | 4 | 49 |
Northern Harrier | 0 | 4 | 27 |
Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 14 | 113 |
Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 35 | 231 |
American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 26 | 140 |
Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 40 | 463 |
Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Swainson's Hawk | 2 | 7 | 48 |
Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 2 | 22 |
Golden Eagle | 0 | 3 | 25 |
American Kestrel | 6 | 63 | 496 |
Merlin | 0 | 1 | 21 |
Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 4 | 16 |
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: | 17 | 257 | 2141 |
Observation start time: | 08:30:00 |
Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
Total observation time: | 8.5 hours |
Official Counter | Dustin Kohler |
Observers: | Bill Young, Dave Erickson, Emma Riley, Mike Serruto, Steve Ryder |
Visitors:We had 13 visitors to the ridge today including 2 determined ladies that
had come up on 2 separate occasions this week, but they had previously come
up when weather or our time parameters prevented them from meeting us.
This was Emma's last day for the season. Thank you for all the lessons and
the memories.
Weather:We had 100% cloud cover all day, but the sun did somehow shine through for
the last couple hours. It snowed/rained for the first few hours. The wind
was from the east all day.
There was a winter weather advisory after 3, but that was our warmest time
of the day.
Raptor Observations:Our migrants were relatively low and mostly on the east or above us.
One Swainson's Hawk of unknown age was our furthest away bird, and the
other Swainson's was probably in juvenile plumage two months ago.
The Peregrine Falcon was attacked by another Peregrine as it flew north.
There was a high-speed chase that went on for miles before the second bird
circled back over us and southward.
In local news we had at least one Red-tailed Hawk attacking a Golden eagle
most of the morning. Later we had 3 Golden Eagles and 2 Red-tailed hawks in
the air at the same time, but only one of each were near the other.
We also had a juvenile Bald Eagle and a Dark Morph Red-tailed Hawk that
didn't migrate.
Non-raptor Observations:We had 3 Western Tanagers to the ridge today, a lifer for this kid from
Missouri, it seems like they have just got back into town.
We had a flock of 11 American White Pelicans, and a Common Raven flying
with a rodent in its beak.
We saw Elk, Mule Deer, and a Red Fox on our ridge today as well, always fun
to see those guys.
Predictions:It looks to be rainy for the first couple of hours before being mostly
cloudy. The wind should be moderate and out of the East or East of
Northeast all day. Not the best day for migrants, but as it will be our
last day of the season I hope to get a few good migrants.
Report submitted by Official Counter (
j.f.pe...@gmail.com)
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. 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)