Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (12 Oct 2024) 12 Raptors
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Oct 12, 2024, 9:20:40 PM10/12/24
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Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park
Golden, Greater Denver, Colorado, USA
This is a new raptor migration site identified and designated so only in mid-September 2024. This is Colorado's 1st fall hawk watch. To get to the site which is along Lookout Mountain Rd. in Golden, enter either Windy Saddle Park or Mount Zion into Google Maps on your favorite navigation app, or enter the coordinates 39.7368,-105.2454. From the parking lot ascend the stone steps to the watch site.
Visitors:
13 hikers asked us questions about migrant raptors, mainly because of super-extrovert Janet who engaged with many of them.
Weather:
Today was a perfect combination of sun to create thermals, and enough clouds to build to see raptors against. The Soaring Forecast from the National Weather Service was excellent with the trigger temperature how 77.7°F being reached by noon, but there weren't many raptors taking advantage of them. Very light winds from the ENE>E, temperature 20-23°C, low humidity 14-21%, barometric pressure dropping slightly, cloud cover 40-70% with good cirrus cloud cover to the east, clear visibility 19-25 km with some haziness.
Raptor Observations:
Today was the day for local adult Golden Eagles– we had 8 different sightings, with 3 at one time, and one more – the other sightings seem to be ones seen again. One flew low directly over us, 2 more easily seen over South Table Mountain, one stooped on another GE on the north side of Lookout Mountain, and 2 more medium-high to the NE, another one chased North low over Golden CO by an RT which flew faster than the GE and caught up with it. In addition we did have one migrant GE missing a few secondaries. The bird of the day was a non-migrant, an adult moderately marked FH with a white tail and moderately marked lesser coverts,found by Janet, and which unfortunately flew North. Only a few migrant raptors were seen to the east, the rest over Lookout Mountain to the south. Non-migrant raptors: RT 4
Non-raptor Observations:
A paraglider standing on top of Green Mountain with his parachute filled with air. 1 Monarch butterfly migrating south. Common Raven 3, Mountain Chickadee 1, a flock of 15 Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire 1, American Crow 2.
Predictions:
NNE>NE with light winds. We'll be there 9:30-10 AM.
Report submitted by Ajit Antony (aian...@earthlink.net)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Directions to site:
From I-70 from Northeast Denver, take Route 58, then a left turn going south on
Route 6, the 1st exit is for Lookout Mountain Road, turn right and follow the
clothes to find Windy Saddle Park parking lot on the right.
From I-70 from points west of Denver, take the Lookout Mountain Road and follow
it to the Windy Saddle Park parking lot, a longer route.
This is an automated email report from hawkcount.org.
If you do not wish to receive these reports, please send email to unsub...@hawkcount.org to unsubscribe.
Golden, Greater Denver, Colorado, USA
This is a new raptor migration site identified and designated so only in mid-September 2024. This is Colorado's 1st fall hawk watch. To get to the site which is along Lookout Mountain Rd. in Golden, enter either Windy Saddle Park or Mount Zion into Google Maps on your favorite navigation app, or enter the coordinates 39.7368,-105.2454. From the parking lot ascend the stone steps to the watch site.
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 5 | 26 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 13 | 37 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 2 | 31 | 79 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 5 | 31 | 102 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 2 | 36 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Golden Eagle | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 23 | 134 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Total: | 12 | 123 | 478 |
| Observation start time: | 09:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 4.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: | Janet Peters, Liza Antony |
Visitors:
13 hikers asked us questions about migrant raptors, mainly because of super-extrovert Janet who engaged with many of them.
Weather:
Today was a perfect combination of sun to create thermals, and enough clouds to build to see raptors against. The Soaring Forecast from the National Weather Service was excellent with the trigger temperature how 77.7°F being reached by noon, but there weren't many raptors taking advantage of them. Very light winds from the ENE>E, temperature 20-23°C, low humidity 14-21%, barometric pressure dropping slightly, cloud cover 40-70% with good cirrus cloud cover to the east, clear visibility 19-25 km with some haziness.
Raptor Observations:
Today was the day for local adult Golden Eagles– we had 8 different sightings, with 3 at one time, and one more – the other sightings seem to be ones seen again. One flew low directly over us, 2 more easily seen over South Table Mountain, one stooped on another GE on the north side of Lookout Mountain, and 2 more medium-high to the NE, another one chased North low over Golden CO by an RT which flew faster than the GE and caught up with it. In addition we did have one migrant GE missing a few secondaries. The bird of the day was a non-migrant, an adult moderately marked FH with a white tail and moderately marked lesser coverts,found by Janet, and which unfortunately flew North. Only a few migrant raptors were seen to the east, the rest over Lookout Mountain to the south. Non-migrant raptors: RT 4
Non-raptor Observations:
A paraglider standing on top of Green Mountain with his parachute filled with air. 1 Monarch butterfly migrating south. Common Raven 3, Mountain Chickadee 1, a flock of 15 Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire 1, American Crow 2.
Predictions:
NNE>NE with light winds. We'll be there 9:30-10 AM.
Report submitted by Ajit Antony (aian...@earthlink.net)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Directions to site:
From I-70 from Northeast Denver, take Route 58, then a left turn going south on
Route 6, the 1st exit is for Lookout Mountain Road, turn right and follow the
clothes to find Windy Saddle Park parking lot on the right.
From I-70 from points west of Denver, take the Lookout Mountain Road and follow
it to the Windy Saddle Park parking lot, a longer route.
This is an automated email report from hawkcount.org.
If you do not wish to receive these reports, please send email to unsub...@hawkcount.org to unsubscribe.
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