Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (08 Sep 2025) 3 Raptors
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Sep 8, 2025, 7:06:55 PMSep 8
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
A hiker came and asked if I had seen many hawks.
Weather:
The forecast was for 15 mph winds from the NNW, with light cloud cover progressively increasing, and a small chance of thunderstorms by 2:00 PM. The winds aloft according to Earth.nullschool.net was from the WNW at 29 km/hr. The soaring forecast was excellent With lift at 7 m/sec, thermal height predicted at 14,530 feet above ground level! At the watch the winds were initially at Level 2 from the SW but in the 3rd hour was at Level 5 from the WSW, temperature 25>27 C, humidity 26>14%, steady barometer, cloud cover 60% - there was a gigantic cirrus cloud overhead going all the way from NE to SW, many cumulogenic thermals to the west, with many smaller clouds all over the sky except for near the sun - probably the best cloud cover quality this fall with enough sun hitting the ground to produce thermals, excellent visibility to 24 km.
Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall hawk count 2025. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk Today is the same date a year ago that we casually went out hoping to see birds on a fall migration, and saw 15 which encouraged us to continue the watch at Mount Zion Hawk Watch. Today I wondered whether the strong westward winds aloft would push migrant raptors over the hawk watch, and looking to the NNW I was able to find 2 migrant AK. The bird of the day was an easily visible Prairie Falcon molting an outer left primary, carrying a huge prey item in its talons, almost half the size of its body! It kept bending its head downward, and once I could see feathers flying through my scope. It came from the north, soared to the east, then the west and then came directly over the watch, then actively flew south, flapping, having no problem with the wind. Non migrant raptors: 2 AK, an hour apart kept trying to face the wind presumably to migrate south, but kept being blown far to the north - the second one was blown north past the watch! Subadult GE at 11:31 AM MDT with white at the base of the tail dorsally but no white in the wings, soared north with only minor rocking in the wind. RT 1. TV 9.
Non-raptor Observations:
Barn swallow 2, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher heard, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1, Blackcapped Chickadee 1, Common Raven 2.
Predictions:
Similar to today with a chance of thunderstorms at 1:00 PM, winds from the west changing to the east. According to earth.nullschool.net the winds aloft would be at 6 km/hr from the WSW: https://tinyurl.com/55ezt9mk Since the wind direction is going to be similar to today, I thought of staying home after what I saw today. I then thought that if migrants did not fly today because of the strong winds, and if as a result I saw more migrants tomorrow, that could indicate that they were inhibited from flying because of the very strong winds today. On the other hand, if there is not much of a flight tomorrow, it could indicate that West winds are not favorable to a southward migration in fall.
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: Sep 08, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 11 | 61 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| American Kestrel | 2 | 14 | 20 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Short-eared Owl | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 3 | 42 | 130 |
| Observation start time: | 08:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 12:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 3.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
A hiker came and asked if I had seen many hawks.
Weather:
The forecast was for 15 mph winds from the NNW, with light cloud cover progressively increasing, and a small chance of thunderstorms by 2:00 PM. The winds aloft according to Earth.nullschool.net was from the WNW at 29 km/hr. The soaring forecast was excellent With lift at 7 m/sec, thermal height predicted at 14,530 feet above ground level! At the watch the winds were initially at Level 2 from the SW but in the 3rd hour was at Level 5 from the WSW, temperature 25>27 C, humidity 26>14%, steady barometer, cloud cover 60% - there was a gigantic cirrus cloud overhead going all the way from NE to SW, many cumulogenic thermals to the west, with many smaller clouds all over the sky except for near the sun - probably the best cloud cover quality this fall with enough sun hitting the ground to produce thermals, excellent visibility to 24 km.
Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall hawk count 2025. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk Today is the same date a year ago that we casually went out hoping to see birds on a fall migration, and saw 15 which encouraged us to continue the watch at Mount Zion Hawk Watch. Today I wondered whether the strong westward winds aloft would push migrant raptors over the hawk watch, and looking to the NNW I was able to find 2 migrant AK. The bird of the day was an easily visible Prairie Falcon molting an outer left primary, carrying a huge prey item in its talons, almost half the size of its body! It kept bending its head downward, and once I could see feathers flying through my scope. It came from the north, soared to the east, then the west and then came directly over the watch, then actively flew south, flapping, having no problem with the wind. Non migrant raptors: 2 AK, an hour apart kept trying to face the wind presumably to migrate south, but kept being blown far to the north - the second one was blown north past the watch! Subadult GE at 11:31 AM MDT with white at the base of the tail dorsally but no white in the wings, soared north with only minor rocking in the wind. RT 1. TV 9.
Non-raptor Observations:
Barn swallow 2, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher heard, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1, Blackcapped Chickadee 1, Common Raven 2.
Predictions:
Similar to today with a chance of thunderstorms at 1:00 PM, winds from the west changing to the east. According to earth.nullschool.net the winds aloft would be at 6 km/hr from the WSW: https://tinyurl.com/55ezt9mk Since the wind direction is going to be similar to today, I thought of staying home after what I saw today. I then thought that if migrants did not fly today because of the strong winds, and if as a result I saw more migrants tomorrow, that could indicate that they were inhibited from flying because of the very strong winds today. On the other hand, if there is not much of a flight tomorrow, it could indicate that West winds are not favorable to a southward migration in fall.
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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