Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (03 Apr 2017) 7 Raptors
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Apr 3, 2017, 10:15:34 PM4/3/17
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Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA
Visitors:
Of the hikers, runners, and bikers on the trail today, most came up only for the view. One polite biker, who left his ride at the gate-post, came up to enjoy the view and briefly talk about the beauty of Colorado.
Weather:
It was a mostly sunny day with the first two hours of the watch having wide open blue sky with minimal cloud-cover found only at the horizons. Later cloud-cover fluctuated between 40 and 60 percent, with most of the cover provided by wispy cirrus. Temperatures ranged from 6 C to 13 C. The wind came only from the west and, after a calm first half-hour, was pretty solidly at either bft 4 or 5 for the rest of the watch. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
All the migrants were counted in the last three hours of the watch. All passed, easily visible, near the Ridge or nearby over the valleys. All but two migrated on the western side of the Ridge. A local adult Red-tailed Hawk rushed in from the south to escort a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk migrant. A Turkey Vulture moving north very close to the Ridge was the last migrant of the day. The many local Red-tailed Hawks, including a darker morph, hunted intensely in the morning and some of them continued to kite in the wind, up and down the Ridge, in the afternoon. A local adult Bald Eagle made a few appearances during the day, moving north up the west-side valley at least three times, circling, only to return south down the valley; once it was seen to head back to the southeast, perhaps towards some lakes. A juvenile or immature Golden Eagle, with no visible white in its wings but a fully white tail-base, came north along the Ridge before heading east to Green Mountain where it was attacked by a local Red-tailed Hawk before continuing eastward. The local falcons observed today included a Peregrine Falcon, a Prairie Falcon and a female American Kestrel.
Non-raptor Observations:
A Townsend’s Solitaire was caught eating berries under the windbreak juniper early in the morning. A Canyon Wren was heard often during the first hour. The “now short-tailed” Black-billed Magpie was spotted again in Rooney Valley. Also seen or heard were Western Bluebird, Spotted Towhee, Northern Flicker, Bushtit, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, and White-throated Swift. Fourteen Mule Deer spent part of the afternoon in Rooney Valley below HawkWatch. There was a heavy traffic jam on westbound I-70 during the first few morning hours.
Report submitted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (jeff....@birdconservancy.org)
Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.org/
Site Description
Dinosaur 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.
Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 03, 2017 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 5 | 185 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| American Kestrel | 2 | 7 | 19 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Total: | 7 | 22 | 278 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Nancy Kranzow |
Visitors:
Of the hikers, runners, and bikers on the trail today, most came up only for the view. One polite biker, who left his ride at the gate-post, came up to enjoy the view and briefly talk about the beauty of Colorado.
Weather:
It was a mostly sunny day with the first two hours of the watch having wide open blue sky with minimal cloud-cover found only at the horizons. Later cloud-cover fluctuated between 40 and 60 percent, with most of the cover provided by wispy cirrus. Temperatures ranged from 6 C to 13 C. The wind came only from the west and, after a calm first half-hour, was pretty solidly at either bft 4 or 5 for the rest of the watch. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
All the migrants were counted in the last three hours of the watch. All passed, easily visible, near the Ridge or nearby over the valleys. All but two migrated on the western side of the Ridge. A local adult Red-tailed Hawk rushed in from the south to escort a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk migrant. A Turkey Vulture moving north very close to the Ridge was the last migrant of the day. The many local Red-tailed Hawks, including a darker morph, hunted intensely in the morning and some of them continued to kite in the wind, up and down the Ridge, in the afternoon. A local adult Bald Eagle made a few appearances during the day, moving north up the west-side valley at least three times, circling, only to return south down the valley; once it was seen to head back to the southeast, perhaps towards some lakes. A juvenile or immature Golden Eagle, with no visible white in its wings but a fully white tail-base, came north along the Ridge before heading east to Green Mountain where it was attacked by a local Red-tailed Hawk before continuing eastward. The local falcons observed today included a Peregrine Falcon, a Prairie Falcon and a female American Kestrel.
Non-raptor Observations:
A Townsend’s Solitaire was caught eating berries under the windbreak juniper early in the morning. A Canyon Wren was heard often during the first hour. The “now short-tailed” Black-billed Magpie was spotted again in Rooney Valley. Also seen or heard were Western Bluebird, Spotted Towhee, Northern Flicker, Bushtit, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, and White-throated Swift. Fourteen Mule Deer spent part of the afternoon in Rooney Valley below HawkWatch. There was a heavy traffic jam on westbound I-70 during the first few morning hours.
Report submitted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (jeff....@birdconservancy.org)
Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.org/
Site Description
Dinosaur 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.
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