Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (08 Apr 2025) 33 Raptors
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Apr 8, 2025, 11:08:40 PM4/8/25
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
We had our first Denver Audubon Homeschool group up this morning with the kids spanning a wide range of ages. They were able to see a few birds, and learned a lot about raptor migration! We love getting to share the magic of migration with the public, especially young people. We have another group coming out next week. Besides the morning group, it was a quiet day on the ridge. Thank you to Ajit Antony, Janet Peters, Audrey Hicks, Cayce Gulbransen, and Chris Gulbransen for your help spotting raptors today! Outside of the already noted folks, we saw a total of 6 visitors at the site today. Can't make it out to the ridge and still want to follow along? Check out our Trektellen page and follow along with live updates at https://www.trektellen.org/count/view/4515/20250301 .
Weather:
Today was another warm and partially sunny day with variable winds. When the sun was out it was pretty hot, but the winds and cloud cover made for colder periods during the day. Winds were predicted from the W but varied between SE and W. Wind speeds picked up at the end of the day reaching speeds of almost 20 mph.
Raptor Observations:
Today's migration was slower than expected with a pretty dramatic halt towards the end of the day. Luckily we saw a few American Kestrels at the end of the day that came low overhead. Migrants flew relatively low today with the cloud cover. Most birds were seen overhead and W of us. A Peregrine Falcon came directly overhead in the afternoon, which was a treat. We also saw a Ferruginous Hawk move along the W ridge slowly, giving us all good looks at it. *First hour of birds counted by Ajit Antony before Audrey and Emma arrived. Non-migrant raptor activity continues to be high with the local Turkey Vultures that moved in recently. Birds could be seen around Mt Morrison and the Cabrini Shrine for most of the day. Red-tailed Hawks were seen utilizing the high winds to kite in the late afternoon, with one bird making laps around the ridge and west valley for about an hour straight. The local male American Kestrel is busy at work recently, seen a few times today harassing migrants in the area, as well as flying with nesting material. Unfortunately we haven't been able to get a good view of where he is bringing it.
Non-raptor Observations:
Passerine movement was slow again today with only a few Mountain Bluebirds seen moving. We had a weird flock of Rock Pigeons (listed as Feral Pigeons on Trektellen) that could be seen below the Cabrini Shrine. Dark-eyed Juncos continue to be seen on the ridge, suggesting they may stay there for the breeding season.
Predictions:
Tomorrows conditions look about the same as todays with winds predicted from the W again. We have a stint of W winds predicted for the next few days, which could slow migration down at our site. Hopefully everyone (including me) is wrong and we have amazing days! Our annual fundraiser is this Saturday! If you plan on coming out to the ridge for this please let Pam Moore know as soon as possible. We will be limiting the number of people on the platform for this.
Report submitted by Official Counter of the day shown above (dinor...@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: Apr 08, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 6 | 44 | 85 |
| Osprey | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 6 | 33 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 3 | 13 | 41 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 7 | 24 | 73 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 41 | 306 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 1 | 7 | 22 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 2 | 21 |
| American Kestrel | 11 | 39 | 141 |
| Merlin | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total: | 33 | 189 | 762 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony, Emma Riley, Audrey Anderson |
| Observers: | Ajit Antony, Audrey Hicks, Cayce Gulbransen , Chris Gulbransen , Janet Peters |
Visitors:
We had our first Denver Audubon Homeschool group up this morning with the kids spanning a wide range of ages. They were able to see a few birds, and learned a lot about raptor migration! We love getting to share the magic of migration with the public, especially young people. We have another group coming out next week. Besides the morning group, it was a quiet day on the ridge. Thank you to Ajit Antony, Janet Peters, Audrey Hicks, Cayce Gulbransen, and Chris Gulbransen for your help spotting raptors today! Outside of the already noted folks, we saw a total of 6 visitors at the site today. Can't make it out to the ridge and still want to follow along? Check out our Trektellen page and follow along with live updates at https://www.trektellen.org/count/view/4515/20250301 .
Weather:
Today was another warm and partially sunny day with variable winds. When the sun was out it was pretty hot, but the winds and cloud cover made for colder periods during the day. Winds were predicted from the W but varied between SE and W. Wind speeds picked up at the end of the day reaching speeds of almost 20 mph.
Raptor Observations:
Today's migration was slower than expected with a pretty dramatic halt towards the end of the day. Luckily we saw a few American Kestrels at the end of the day that came low overhead. Migrants flew relatively low today with the cloud cover. Most birds were seen overhead and W of us. A Peregrine Falcon came directly overhead in the afternoon, which was a treat. We also saw a Ferruginous Hawk move along the W ridge slowly, giving us all good looks at it. *First hour of birds counted by Ajit Antony before Audrey and Emma arrived. Non-migrant raptor activity continues to be high with the local Turkey Vultures that moved in recently. Birds could be seen around Mt Morrison and the Cabrini Shrine for most of the day. Red-tailed Hawks were seen utilizing the high winds to kite in the late afternoon, with one bird making laps around the ridge and west valley for about an hour straight. The local male American Kestrel is busy at work recently, seen a few times today harassing migrants in the area, as well as flying with nesting material. Unfortunately we haven't been able to get a good view of where he is bringing it.
Non-raptor Observations:
Passerine movement was slow again today with only a few Mountain Bluebirds seen moving. We had a weird flock of Rock Pigeons (listed as Feral Pigeons on Trektellen) that could be seen below the Cabrini Shrine. Dark-eyed Juncos continue to be seen on the ridge, suggesting they may stay there for the breeding season.
Predictions:
Tomorrows conditions look about the same as todays with winds predicted from the W again. We have a stint of W winds predicted for the next few days, which could slow migration down at our site. Hopefully everyone (including me) is wrong and we have amazing days! Our annual fundraiser is this Saturday! If you plan on coming out to the ridge for this please let Pam Moore know as soon as possible. We will be limiting the number of people on the platform for this.
Report submitted by Official Counter of the day shown above (dinor...@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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