better-than-average raptoring - Boulder County

[Peter Ruprecht]

Hi Cobirders,

OK, so the subject line is a bit understated.  Along with the other participants in this morning's DFO field trip around Lagerman Res, I had my best overall raptor day ever.  Over the 5.4 road miles between Lagerman and Potato Hill, we found 8 raptor species, including 6 Golden Eagles and 7 Ferruginous Hawks.  At one point near Potato Hill, I had 5 raptor species in my binocular field of view (plus several ravens.) 

These bright winter days with snow on the ground can be great for viewing flying birds of prey, as the strong underlighting makes the plumage details really pop.

One of the great things about seeing so many individual raptors in a short period of time is the opportunity to compare similar species (eg, intermediate Harlan's Red-tailed vs darkish female Rough-legged.)  And to appreciate the plumage variation within species.

Big thanks to everyone who led or participated in the trip, and to the bird deities for blessing us with great weather and exceptional viewing.

Our eBird Trip Report shows

• 6 Golden Eagles
• 9 Bald Eagles
• 1 Northern Harrier
• 7 Red-tailed Hawks, including one Harlan's
• 1 Rough-legged Hawk
• 7 Ferruginous Hawks
• 1 American Kestrel
• 1 Prairie Falcon

and there were another 2-3 redtails and 3-4 kestrels along 75th St heading back to Lagerman.

Peter Ruprecht

Superior