Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (11 Mar 2026) 14 Raptors
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
4 visitors. It was fairly slow for visitors, but a large group of mountain bikers enjoyed a ride at the ridge. Thank you to Karen and Michael Fernandez, Sharon Kelly, Ric Olson, and Sammy Korengut for all their help today!
Weather:
Temperatures were cold, with moderate winds from the E and SE. The sky started as mostly cloudy, but cloud cover dropped rapidly in the first few hours of the morning, and we had blue skies with a few scattered clouds for the remainder of the day.
Raptor Observations:
Today was our most active day for raptor migration of the season so far. In the morning, we counted a slow but steady rate of a few birds per hour - Red-tailed Hawks and one young Bald Eagle. Activity slowed for a bit mid-day, but then suddenly we had a burst of activity with 4 RTs, followed by a close Ferruginous Hawk. Our first migrant Prairie Falcon of the season was seen near eye-level barreling down the east side before soaring above the ridge, giving us excellent views. A distant male American Kestrel was seen on the west, the sun illuminating his beautiful red tail. Passerines were fairly quiet today, but we saw our first Western Bluebirds of the year, and a flock of Mountain Bluebirds landed on the ridge in the late afternoon.
Non-raptor Observations:
Mourning Dove 2, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 5, American Bushtit 2, Mountain Bluebird 23, Western Bluebird 13, Townsend's Solitaire 2, American Robin 4, Pine Siskin 2
Predictions:
A high wind watch is in effect tomorrow, with strong winds from the west predicted to increase throughout the day to 20-30 MPH with possible gusts around 45 MPH. Expect sun and moderate temperatures in the 50s to low 60s F. The trail should be dry or mostly dry. We hope to get a full count day as long as winds are not too intense but expect that the strong west winds may slow migration.
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: Mar 11, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 10 | 27 | 27 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 14 | 46 | 46 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley, Soren Zappia |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
4 visitors. It was fairly slow for visitors, but a large group of mountain bikers enjoyed a ride at the ridge. Thank you to Karen and Michael Fernandez, Sharon Kelly, Ric Olson, and Sammy Korengut for all their help today!
Weather:
Temperatures were cold, with moderate winds from the E and SE. The sky started as mostly cloudy, but cloud cover dropped rapidly in the first few hours of the morning, and we had blue skies with a few scattered clouds for the remainder of the day.
Raptor Observations:
Today was our most active day for raptor migration of the season so far. In the morning, we counted a slow but steady rate of a few birds per hour - Red-tailed Hawks and one young Bald Eagle. Activity slowed for a bit mid-day, but then suddenly we had a burst of activity with 4 RTs, followed by a close Ferruginous Hawk. Our first migrant Prairie Falcon of the season was seen near eye-level barreling down the east side before soaring above the ridge, giving us excellent views. A distant male American Kestrel was seen on the west, the sun illuminating his beautiful red tail. Passerines were fairly quiet today, but we saw our first Western Bluebirds of the year, and a flock of Mountain Bluebirds landed on the ridge in the late afternoon.
Non-raptor Observations:
Mourning Dove 2, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 5, American Bushtit 2, Mountain Bluebird 23, Western Bluebird 13, Townsend's Solitaire 2, American Robin 4, Pine Siskin 2
Predictions:
A high wind watch is in effect tomorrow, with strong winds from the west predicted to increase throughout the day to 20-30 MPH with possible gusts around 45 MPH. Expect sun and moderate temperatures in the 50s to low 60s F. The trail should be dry or mostly dry. We hope to get a full count day as long as winds are not too intense but expect that the strong west winds may slow migration.
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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