Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (05 Apr 2025) 1 Raptors
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Apr 6, 2025, 9:47:19 PM4/6/25
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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 in mid-September 2024. This is Colorado's 1st fall hawk watch site and the state's second spring watch site. Many raptors seen c. 1.5 miles to the West from Dinosaur Ridge, may be directly overhead at this site, we are hoping. 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. EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO THE HAWK WATCH TO ENJOY THE SPECTACLE OF RAPTOR MIGRATION, EVEN IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IDENTIFYING RAPTORS IN FLIGHT.
Visitors:
Five students on a hike from the Colorado School of Mines asked about migration. I explained about the Rockies acting as an aerial highway, as the Appalachians do in the east, helping conserve raptor energy by soaring along ridges, keeping them in better condition to stake out territories in their breeding areas. 7 seven young men from Texas who were on a bachelor party, asked about migration. I congratulated the imminent bridegroom, and told him that I've been married for 52 years. He wanted any advice. I said there would be ups and downs but he should be prepared to stick it out, and not give up like most people do. A family from Jordan via California, the woman began looking through my scope and her children told her "That's not yours!" Evidently she thought it was a scope for anyone to use. I let them look through the scope at Denver.
Weather:
Snow flurries were predicted to 11:00 a.m. with winds from the SE>E. At the watch it look like a fairyland with each shrub bare branch coated with a 0.5 cm layer of snow.
Raptor Observations:
The first raptor was only by 12:02 p.m. MDT , a TV which went from West to East to Southeast. The only migrant was a juvenile BE at 2:58 p.m. far the East. Non-migrant raptors: at 12:54 p.m. an adult GE missing 2 secondary feathers from its right wing flew NE along Clear Creek Canyon ,dropping, when I lost it behind the nearby shrub, but I scanned to the north at various levels and could not see it again. Adult BE 1. I wondered whether if migrants could not fly in the morning because of inclement conditions, would they fly after? I looked at the internet and the answer was that they would if they were good thermals available. The soaring forecast was only 1.3 m/s lift. I scanned high both South as well as North and could not find any migrants.
Non-raptor Observations:
Townsend's Solitaire 1, Northern Flicker 1.
Predictions:
Initial snow flurries till 11:00 a.m. then clearing.
Report submitted by Ajit Antony (aian...@earthlink.net)
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Golden, Greater Denver, Colorado, USA
This is a new raptor migration site identified and designated in mid-September 2024. This is Colorado's 1st fall hawk watch site and the state's second spring watch site. Many raptors seen c. 1.5 miles to the West from Dinosaur Ridge, may be directly overhead at this site, we are hoping. 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. EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO THE HAWK WATCH TO ENJOY THE SPECTACLE OF RAPTOR MIGRATION, EVEN IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IDENTIFYING RAPTORS IN FLIGHT.
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 05, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 1 | 33 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 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 | 1 | 1 |
| Total: | 1 | 9 | 78 |
| Observation start time: | 09:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 3.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
Five students on a hike from the Colorado School of Mines asked about migration. I explained about the Rockies acting as an aerial highway, as the Appalachians do in the east, helping conserve raptor energy by soaring along ridges, keeping them in better condition to stake out territories in their breeding areas. 7 seven young men from Texas who were on a bachelor party, asked about migration. I congratulated the imminent bridegroom, and told him that I've been married for 52 years. He wanted any advice. I said there would be ups and downs but he should be prepared to stick it out, and not give up like most people do. A family from Jordan via California, the woman began looking through my scope and her children told her "That's not yours!" Evidently she thought it was a scope for anyone to use. I let them look through the scope at Denver.
Weather:
Snow flurries were predicted to 11:00 a.m. with winds from the SE>E. At the watch it look like a fairyland with each shrub bare branch coated with a 0.5 cm layer of snow.
Raptor Observations:
The first raptor was only by 12:02 p.m. MDT , a TV which went from West to East to Southeast. The only migrant was a juvenile BE at 2:58 p.m. far the East. Non-migrant raptors: at 12:54 p.m. an adult GE missing 2 secondary feathers from its right wing flew NE along Clear Creek Canyon ,dropping, when I lost it behind the nearby shrub, but I scanned to the north at various levels and could not see it again. Adult BE 1. I wondered whether if migrants could not fly in the morning because of inclement conditions, would they fly after? I looked at the internet and the answer was that they would if they were good thermals available. The soaring forecast was only 1.3 m/s lift. I scanned high both South as well as North and could not find any migrants.
Non-raptor Observations:
Townsend's Solitaire 1, Northern Flicker 1.
Predictions:
Initial snow flurries till 11:00 a.m. then clearing.
Report submitted by Ajit Antony (aian...@earthlink.net)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
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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