Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (20 Apr 2026) 98 Raptors
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
We had 6 visitors stop at the hawk watch today. Thank you to Clay Gibson, Marirosa Donisi, Mike Britten, and Mike Serruto for helping spot and count migrants today!
Weather:
It was a hot spring day with temperatures reaching 27 degrees celsius. We had nice cloud cover in the morning but that dissipated for most of the afternoon before clouds moved back in for the late afternoon. Winds varied throughout the morning before settling from the E for the rest of the day. Humidity got as low as 9% today.
Raptor Observations:
We had another fun day of migration today that started out with some high and distant Broad-winged Hawks before we got a few close BW nearby. Migrants took the common west line again today with most of them being high. Cooper's Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks came through in nice numbers in the late afternoon, before the American Kestrels stole the show. The Kestrels took the distant W line again for the second night in a row, but still had us counting until 1830 MST. Non-raptor highlights include our FOY Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Chipping Sparrow, and a nice presence of Double-crested Cormorants late in the day. Swallows and Swifts could be seen across the sky for most of the day.
Non-raptor Observations:
White-throated Swift 35, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 1, Mourning Dove 3, Double-crested Cormorant 12, American Crow 1, Common Raven 1, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Tree Swallow 2, Violet-green Swallow 26, Rock Wren 1, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1, House Finch 5, Chipping Sparrow 1, Spotted Towhee 2, Western Meadowlark 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2, swallow sp. 14
Predictions:
Conditions are predicted to be similar to today with higher temperatures.
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 20, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 3 | 129 | 156 |
| Osprey | 1 | 33 | 39 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 11 | 24 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 20 | 32 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 6 | 91 | 112 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 19 | 150 | 202 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 9 | 27 | 27 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 14 | 174 | 422 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 2 | 16 | 16 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 6 | 15 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| American Kestrel | 42 | 445 | 584 |
| Merlin | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 1 | 10 | 16 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Total: | 98 | 1127 | 1680 |
| Observation start time: | 08:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
We had 6 visitors stop at the hawk watch today. Thank you to Clay Gibson, Marirosa Donisi, Mike Britten, and Mike Serruto for helping spot and count migrants today!
Weather:
It was a hot spring day with temperatures reaching 27 degrees celsius. We had nice cloud cover in the morning but that dissipated for most of the afternoon before clouds moved back in for the late afternoon. Winds varied throughout the morning before settling from the E for the rest of the day. Humidity got as low as 9% today.
Raptor Observations:
We had another fun day of migration today that started out with some high and distant Broad-winged Hawks before we got a few close BW nearby. Migrants took the common west line again today with most of them being high. Cooper's Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks came through in nice numbers in the late afternoon, before the American Kestrels stole the show. The Kestrels took the distant W line again for the second night in a row, but still had us counting until 1830 MST. Non-raptor highlights include our FOY Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Chipping Sparrow, and a nice presence of Double-crested Cormorants late in the day. Swallows and Swifts could be seen across the sky for most of the day.
Non-raptor Observations:
White-throated Swift 35, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 1, Mourning Dove 3, Double-crested Cormorant 12, American Crow 1, Common Raven 1, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Tree Swallow 2, Violet-green Swallow 26, Rock Wren 1, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1, House Finch 5, Chipping Sparrow 1, Spotted Towhee 2, Western Meadowlark 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2, swallow sp. 14
Predictions:
Conditions are predicted to be similar to today with higher temperatures.
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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