Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (22 Aug 2025) Raptors
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Aug 22, 2025, 8:04:33 PMAug 22
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
A young woman came to the watch with binoculars and a camera with a long lens. Karolyn Chan has moved to Colorado only 2 weeks ago, having been a birder only for a few months, she was told by an experienced birder in NJ to visit the Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch! I was extremely gratified to hear that, that our daily reports on Hawkcount.org were being read from as far away as New Jersey. We strongly recommended DFO and the Bald Eagle Watch of the Bird Conservation of the Rockies, told her that she could watch Meredith McBurney banding birds at Barr Lake, and she said she would go there tomorrow. She scanned the sky assiduously and found us three distant TV which were not migrants. I told her that Liza and I were leading a DFO trip to the Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch combining raptor watching with a discussion of the geology and paleontology of the area on Saturday August 30th and that she or anyone else could sign up for it at Dfobirds.org.
Weather:
Level 3 (8-12 mph) becoming level 5 winds (19 mph) from the NE which should have been favorable to southbound migrants in fall, but the predicted cloud cover of 30% was actually 90% at the watch, and this would result in very poor thermal formation resulting in a poor migration of buteos; visibility was excellent. Nullschool.earth.net had streaming winds coming down from Canada favorable to migrants, but alas it was trumped perhaps by the lack of strong thermals. See https://tinyurl.com/2s49z2ew where the green circle is roughly where Dinosaur Ridge is located.
Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall count 2025. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk Not a single migrant found today. Non migrant raptors: Osprey 2, carrying a fish, flying North, another one seen over the Western Ridge 39 mins. later flying West; TV 4, RT 4.
Non-raptor Observations:
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, Downy Woodpecker 1, N. House Wren 1, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1, hummingwood species, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Common Raven 1.
Predictions:
A 50% chance of rain, so unless the forecast changes we will be counting on Sunday when we will have a small window to observe, with NE winds, before rain and lightning are predicted by noon.
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: Aug 22, 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 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 18 | 19 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Short-eared Owl | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 0 | 23 | 28 |
| Observation start time: | 07:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 12:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 4.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: | Karolyn Chan, Liza Antony |
Visitors:
A young woman came to the watch with binoculars and a camera with a long lens. Karolyn Chan has moved to Colorado only 2 weeks ago, having been a birder only for a few months, she was told by an experienced birder in NJ to visit the Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch! I was extremely gratified to hear that, that our daily reports on Hawkcount.org were being read from as far away as New Jersey. We strongly recommended DFO and the Bald Eagle Watch of the Bird Conservation of the Rockies, told her that she could watch Meredith McBurney banding birds at Barr Lake, and she said she would go there tomorrow. She scanned the sky assiduously and found us three distant TV which were not migrants. I told her that Liza and I were leading a DFO trip to the Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch combining raptor watching with a discussion of the geology and paleontology of the area on Saturday August 30th and that she or anyone else could sign up for it at Dfobirds.org.
Weather:
Level 3 (8-12 mph) becoming level 5 winds (19 mph) from the NE which should have been favorable to southbound migrants in fall, but the predicted cloud cover of 30% was actually 90% at the watch, and this would result in very poor thermal formation resulting in a poor migration of buteos; visibility was excellent. Nullschool.earth.net had streaming winds coming down from Canada favorable to migrants, but alas it was trumped perhaps by the lack of strong thermals. See https://tinyurl.com/2s49z2ew where the green circle is roughly where Dinosaur Ridge is located.
Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall count 2025. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk Not a single migrant found today. Non migrant raptors: Osprey 2, carrying a fish, flying North, another one seen over the Western Ridge 39 mins. later flying West; TV 4, RT 4.
Non-raptor Observations:
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, Downy Woodpecker 1, N. House Wren 1, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1, hummingwood species, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Common Raven 1.
Predictions:
A 50% chance of rain, so unless the forecast changes we will be counting on Sunday when we will have a small window to observe, with NE winds, before rain and lightning are predicted by noon.
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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