Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (09 Mar 2025) 4 Raptors
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Mar 9, 2025, 10:36:39 PM3/9/25
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
Thank you to everyone who came out today to help spot raptors! We had a great group on the ridge for most of the morning, including Dinosaur Ridge legend Joey Kellner. We had a total of 55 visitors on the ridge today, with many folks stopping to ask questions and fill out our visitor log! By far the best visit we had today was a woman named Margo from Boulder who hiked her harp up to the site and played for us for 20-30 minutes. She said she enjoys taking her harp to various public sites to play for folks. We enjoyed every second of it!
Weather:
We had a beautiful bluebird day today with very minimal cloud cover. Winds varied in direction all day, creating less than ideal migratory conditions. Winds settled from the W in the later part of the day. We are very used to slow counts during west winds, and today was no exception.
Raptor Observations:
Migratory behavior today was minimal with our first migrants being counted in the 12 MST hour. Most of our migrants took a path close to the Dakota Ridge, with one immature RT flying below/at eye level on the western side. Local RT activity kept us all busy today as we watched them gain elevation and then not fly North. Again, 6 RT could be seen all at once today. One very stunning dark-morph bird was seen flying directly south in the first half of the day. Other local birds seen today include multiple GE flying N of the site, BE over Mt Morrison and Green Mtn, a female AK that landed below the ridge on the eastern side, and a CH that gained elevation but did not move N.
Non-raptor Observations:
Passerine's seen today: Woodhouse's Scrub Jay 2, American Crow 1, Common Raven 8, American Bushtit 2, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, Mountain Bluebird 13, Dark-eyed Junco 2 MOBL are moving N in small flocks throughout the day. 6 Mule Deer were seen on the western slope of the Dakota Ridge on our hike out.
Predictions:
Winds are predicted to again vary throughout the day with some western component. This could lead to another low count day, but it is going to at least be a beautiful & sunny day.
Report submitted by Official Counter (j.f.pe...@gmail.com)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: www.dinosaurridgehawkwatch.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
Hawk Counter(s) and volunteers from March through early May.
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)
Golden, Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 09, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 4 | 28 | 28 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 4 | 43 | 43 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley |
| Observers: | Joey Kellner, Laura Farnsworth, Mike Ames, Tim Condon |
Visitors:
Thank you to everyone who came out today to help spot raptors! We had a great group on the ridge for most of the morning, including Dinosaur Ridge legend Joey Kellner. We had a total of 55 visitors on the ridge today, with many folks stopping to ask questions and fill out our visitor log! By far the best visit we had today was a woman named Margo from Boulder who hiked her harp up to the site and played for us for 20-30 minutes. She said she enjoys taking her harp to various public sites to play for folks. We enjoyed every second of it!
Weather:
We had a beautiful bluebird day today with very minimal cloud cover. Winds varied in direction all day, creating less than ideal migratory conditions. Winds settled from the W in the later part of the day. We are very used to slow counts during west winds, and today was no exception.
Raptor Observations:
Migratory behavior today was minimal with our first migrants being counted in the 12 MST hour. Most of our migrants took a path close to the Dakota Ridge, with one immature RT flying below/at eye level on the western side. Local RT activity kept us all busy today as we watched them gain elevation and then not fly North. Again, 6 RT could be seen all at once today. One very stunning dark-morph bird was seen flying directly south in the first half of the day. Other local birds seen today include multiple GE flying N of the site, BE over Mt Morrison and Green Mtn, a female AK that landed below the ridge on the eastern side, and a CH that gained elevation but did not move N.
Non-raptor Observations:
Passerine's seen today: Woodhouse's Scrub Jay 2, American Crow 1, Common Raven 8, American Bushtit 2, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, Mountain Bluebird 13, Dark-eyed Junco 2 MOBL are moving N in small flocks throughout the day. 6 Mule Deer were seen on the western slope of the Dakota Ridge on our hike out.
Predictions:
Winds are predicted to again vary throughout the day with some western component. This could lead to another low count day, but it is going to at least be a beautiful & sunny day.
Report submitted by Official Counter (j.f.pe...@gmail.com)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: www.dinosaurridgehawkwatch.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
Hawk Counter(s) and volunteers from March through early May.
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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