Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (12 Apr 2017) 16 Raptors
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Apr 12, 2017, 7:03:28 PM4/12/17
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Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA
Visitors:
Matt Gray helped all morning, and Ajit and Liza Antoy stayed from mid-morning into the afternoon. Their spotting and identification was very helpful, especially considering the featureless blue sky. Thank you. Ajit and Liza volunteer at the Mount Peter hawkwatch (fall) site in New York state and told some great accounts of Broad-winged and other east coast migrations.
Weather:
A virtually cloudless day with a very light haze or smog. Warm, even in the morning, with temperatures from near 60 F to the upper 60's. A light wind was mostly from the SE or NE at around 1 or 2 Bft.
Raptor Observations:
There is an old fisherman's saying, you should have been here yesterday, although it was not a bad day. The flight pattern generally was eye level east of the ridge in the morning with increasing elevation through the day and little western ridge activity, other than locals. A late day high flier gave some good Broad-winged indications but was conservatively counted as an unk buteo. There was typical local Red-tailed activity and a few local Turkey Vultures. Local Kestral(s) was spotted 4 or 5 times and also a possibly local Sharp-shinned that dove out of sight before a good sense of direction could be determined.
Non-raptor Observations:
Seen or heard included Common Raven, Townsend's Solitaire, Bushtit, chickadee, European Starling, Woodhouse's Scrub-jay, Western Meadowlark. A few White-throated Swifts in the late morning and then a couple of larger flocks up to about 30 in the afternoon.
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 12, 2017 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 5 | 26 | 26 |
| Osprey | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 4 | 13 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 16 | 26 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 27 | 32 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 39 | 219 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| American Kestrel | 3 | 22 | 34 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Unknown Buteo | 1 | 7 | 22 |
| Unknown Falcon | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Total: | 16 | 161 | 417 |
| Observation start time: | 07:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Roger Rouch |
| Observers: | Matt Gray |
Visitors:
Matt Gray helped all morning, and Ajit and Liza Antoy stayed from mid-morning into the afternoon. Their spotting and identification was very helpful, especially considering the featureless blue sky. Thank you. Ajit and Liza volunteer at the Mount Peter hawkwatch (fall) site in New York state and told some great accounts of Broad-winged and other east coast migrations.
Weather:
A virtually cloudless day with a very light haze or smog. Warm, even in the morning, with temperatures from near 60 F to the upper 60's. A light wind was mostly from the SE or NE at around 1 or 2 Bft.
Raptor Observations:
There is an old fisherman's saying, you should have been here yesterday, although it was not a bad day. The flight pattern generally was eye level east of the ridge in the morning with increasing elevation through the day and little western ridge activity, other than locals. A late day high flier gave some good Broad-winged indications but was conservatively counted as an unk buteo. There was typical local Red-tailed activity and a few local Turkey Vultures. Local Kestral(s) was spotted 4 or 5 times and also a possibly local Sharp-shinned that dove out of sight before a good sense of direction could be determined.
Non-raptor Observations:
Seen or heard included Common Raven, Townsend's Solitaire, Bushtit, chickadee, European Starling, Woodhouse's Scrub-jay, Western Meadowlark. A few White-throated Swifts in the late morning and then a couple of larger flocks up to about 30 in the afternoon.
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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