Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (16 Apr 2026) 34 Raptors
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
21 visitors. We had a great group of birders in the morning, excited to see the Broad-winged Hawks! Later in the day, we enjoyed greeting all the dogs visiting the ridge. Thank you to Paula Wegert, Dale Campau, Janet Peters, and Ryan Gannon for volunteering today!
Weather:
The day started sunny with scattered clouds and a light wind from the SE. Temperatures were moderate in the mid 60s to low 70s. Mid-day, the winds shifted west and gained intensity to about 4 bft for a brief period before returning to light E. Around the time the winds first shifted, cloud cover became extensive for the remainder of the day. In the final few hours, the winds returned to W at 4 bft. Barometric pressure dropped throughout the day at a higher rate than previous days.
Raptor Observations:
It was a good morning with most migrants in the first two hours. Our first bird of the day, a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk, flew low overhead just as we started the count. Three Broad-winged Hawks were counted in the first hour - our highest day total for the season so far. We also saw a juvenile Ferruginous Hawk fly by at eye level, and a distant dark morph Swainson's Hawk. We also saw a young Bald Eagle and Osprey on a line high over Mt. Morrison. While most activity was on the west, a good number of birds also came on the east side, and activity seemed to come in bursts. After the first 2 hours, the birds slowed down drastically to just a few per hour. In midday, many birds were observed overhead. In the late afternoon we counted three American Kestrels. Lots of territorial behavior was observed today, including RTs attacking a GE and ravens attacking an RT. A local Cooper's Hawk was observed performing aerial displays a few times throughout the day.
Non-raptor Observations:
White-throated Swift 50, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 3, Mourning Dove 2, American White Pelican 3, Say's Phoebe 1, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 3, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Barn Swallow 1, swalow sp. 5, Rock Wren 1, American Robin 1, Pine Siskin 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Western Meadowlark 1
Predictions:
Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow! Mixed precipitation is forecasted for the morning pre-count, followed by snow until late afternoon. 1-3 inches of accumulation is predicted, with the heaviest snow predicted between 10 am to 2 pm MDT. Winds are predicted to be light to moderate NE with temperatures in the low to mid 30s F. Expect trails may be slippery, and traction devices may be helpful. We intend to count if visibility is not too limited.
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]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org - [Project Details]
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, and American White Pelican. 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 16, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 2 | 106 | 133 |
| Osprey | 2 | 20 | 26 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 7 | 20 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 17 | 29 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 61 | 82 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 6 | 109 | 161 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 8 | 142 | 390 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 1 | 5 | 14 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| American Kestrel | 4 | 268 | 407 |
| Merlin | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 2 | 8 | 14 |
| Unknown Buteo | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Total: | 34 | 767 | 1320 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.02 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley, Emma Riley, Soren Zappia |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
21 visitors. We had a great group of birders in the morning, excited to see the Broad-winged Hawks! Later in the day, we enjoyed greeting all the dogs visiting the ridge. Thank you to Paula Wegert, Dale Campau, Janet Peters, and Ryan Gannon for volunteering today!
Weather:
The day started sunny with scattered clouds and a light wind from the SE. Temperatures were moderate in the mid 60s to low 70s. Mid-day, the winds shifted west and gained intensity to about 4 bft for a brief period before returning to light E. Around the time the winds first shifted, cloud cover became extensive for the remainder of the day. In the final few hours, the winds returned to W at 4 bft. Barometric pressure dropped throughout the day at a higher rate than previous days.
Raptor Observations:
It was a good morning with most migrants in the first two hours. Our first bird of the day, a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk, flew low overhead just as we started the count. Three Broad-winged Hawks were counted in the first hour - our highest day total for the season so far. We also saw a juvenile Ferruginous Hawk fly by at eye level, and a distant dark morph Swainson's Hawk. We also saw a young Bald Eagle and Osprey on a line high over Mt. Morrison. While most activity was on the west, a good number of birds also came on the east side, and activity seemed to come in bursts. After the first 2 hours, the birds slowed down drastically to just a few per hour. In midday, many birds were observed overhead. In the late afternoon we counted three American Kestrels. Lots of territorial behavior was observed today, including RTs attacking a GE and ravens attacking an RT. A local Cooper's Hawk was observed performing aerial displays a few times throughout the day.
Non-raptor Observations:
White-throated Swift 50, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 3, Mourning Dove 2, American White Pelican 3, Say's Phoebe 1, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 3, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Barn Swallow 1, swalow sp. 5, Rock Wren 1, American Robin 1, Pine Siskin 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Western Meadowlark 1
Predictions:
Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow! Mixed precipitation is forecasted for the morning pre-count, followed by snow until late afternoon. 1-3 inches of accumulation is predicted, with the heaviest snow predicted between 10 am to 2 pm MDT. Winds are predicted to be light to moderate NE with temperatures in the low to mid 30s F. Expect trails may be slippery, and traction devices may be helpful. We intend to count if visibility is not too limited.
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]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org - [Project Details]
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, and American White Pelican. 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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