Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the RockiesColorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 30, 2018 |
Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Turkey Vulture | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bald Eagle | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Cooper's Hawk | 2 | 7 | 7 |
Northern Goshawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Red-tailed Hawk | 17 | 163 | 163 |
Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Golden Eagle | 1 | 8 | 8 |
American Kestrel | 0 | 13 | 13 |
Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Prairie Falcon | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Unknown Buteo | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Total: | 21 | 214 | 214 |
Observation start time: | 10:00:00 |
Observation end time: | 16:00:00 |
Total observation time: | 6 hours |
Official Counter | Debbie James |
Observers: | Dave Petroy, Erika Petroy, Mike Fernandez, Shelly Petroy |
Visitors:The usual Good Friday Pilgrimage was happening, but for the first time in
the four years I've done Hawk Watch, they didn't come up. Instead they
walked along Morrison Hwy, then across I-70, up to Mother Cabrini on
frontage road. Mike Fernandez and his two son's Vinnie and Martin were up
for the third hour, along with the Petroy family. The daughter Erika is on
spring break from UC/Santa Barbara where she's getting a Masters in
Evironmental Studies. The Petroy's found out about Hawk Watch from a movie
at the Boulder Film Festival about Migrations, which mentioned Dinosaur
Ridge site.
Weather:Beautiful day up on the Ridge. Overcast skies, but warm temps, and
thankfully hardly any wind. Humidity started out at 67% after the
rain/snow drop yesterday and settled down to 37% by the end of the day.
Raptor Observations:Locals observed were 4 Redtail Hawks, two over Green Mountain, and the
other pair west flying between Mt. Morrison and Mother Cabrini. Many
migrators were escorted by one or more of these Red Tails. One Kestrel
flew by on the west side of the Ridge, and then tacked west over
Mathews/Winters. One Prairie Falcon was spotted on the West side of the
Ridge.
Non-raptor Observations:5 elk were seen on the east side of the Ridge on the way up in the morning.
Also seen or heard: 5 Black-billed Magpie; 7 House Finch; 2 Western
Meadowlark; 4 American Crow; 2 Townsend's Solitaire; 3 Common Raven; 2
Chickadee; 1 Flicker.
Predictions:It was such a great day for migration--hoping tomorrow will be also1
Report submitted by Matthew Smith (
matt....@birdconservancy.org)
Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at:
http://www.birdconservancy.org/More information at
hawkcount.org: [
Site Profile] [
Day Summary] [
Month Summary]
Site DescriptionDinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawkwatch in Colorado and is the
best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Dinosaur Ridge may
be the best place in the country to see the rare dark morph of the Broad-winged
Hawk (a few are seen each spring). Hawkwatchers who linger long enough may see
resident Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks and Prairie Falcons, in addition to
migrating Swainson's, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels and
Turkey Vultures. Peregrine Falcons and Ferruginous Hawks are uncommon; Northern
Goshawk is rare but regular. Non-raptor species include Rock Wren, and sometimes
Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane, White-throated Swift, American White
Pelican or Dusky Grouse. Birders are always welcome.
The hawkwatch is generally staffed by volunteers from Bird Conservancy of the
Rockies from about 9 AM to around 3 PM from March 1st to May 7th.
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 small signs from the south
side of lot to hawkwatch 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, head through the gate, and walk to
the clearly-visible, flat area at the crest of the ridge.