Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (06 Sep 2025) 11 Raptors
18 views
Skip to first unread message
rep...@hawkcount.org
Sep 6, 2025, 11:11:51 PMSep 6
to cob...@googlegroups.com
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
A man hiking with his family came up to the watch asking whether I was watching for hawks and I told him that I was counting migrants. Are they flying south now, he asked. I told him that's why I was there. Wanted to know if they fly in flocks like Canada Geese. I explained that that was mainly Swainson's Hawk and Broad-winged Hawk and further south Mississippi Kite. He pointed to my scope and wanted to know if I was photographing them. I said it was to help identify whether they were male or female, adult or immature of 17 different species, and that there were around 300 hawk watches in the country. Another hiker wanted to know how many hawks I had seen and which way were they flying at this season.
Weather:
The forecast was for light winds from the SE>E>NE with a chance of thunderstorms after 2:00 PM. At the watch the temperature was 16-28 F, humidity 33>23%, no cloud cover for the first 3 hours and minimal thereafter, visibility reduced to 3 km as a result of wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. The winds aloft at 700 hPa (up to 5000 feet above ground level) on Earth.nullschool.net was from the NW at 13 km/h. https://tinyurl.com/5fttcvpd with the small green circle representing the rough location of Dinosaur Ridge. The soaring forecast showed lift at 2.1 m/sec and thermals to 6726 feet above ground level.
Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall hawk count 2025. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk The first raptor was a local TV at 10:08 AM MDT, and it took until 10:34 to see the first migrant. I heard the squawk of a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay and saw an accipiter 10 ft away chasing it into a cedar. It was an SS which took off south, which was in turn chased by an AK, and both of them flew, chasing each other in turn and dropped. I thought they were non-migrants, but a few minutes later I saw them chasing each other overhead, and they eventually went to the south, so they were deemed migrants. A minute later a PG glided south almost overhead, and slightly to the east. Non-migrant raptors: GE juvenile at 12:47 PM with white at the base of the tail, small white ventral primary patches but none dorsally; PG At 11:43 and 11:58 AM; RT 1; TV 9.
Non-raptor Observations:
Spotted Towhee 1, Violet-green Swallow 35, Mourning Dove 1, Blue Jay 1, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 6, a single Canada Goose flying south, Common Raven 5. 4 paragliders.
Predictions:
Light N>NNE>WSW winds with a slight chance of thunderstorms after noon. https://tinyurl.com/4j9eafa6 shows winds aloft coming from the WNW at 19 km/hr.
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]
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, American White Pelican, and Dusky Grouse. 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: Sep 06, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 3 | 9 | 59 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| American Kestrel | 4 | 8 | 14 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Short-eared Owl | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 11 | 30 | 118 |
| Observation start time: | 07:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 12:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 4.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
A man hiking with his family came up to the watch asking whether I was watching for hawks and I told him that I was counting migrants. Are they flying south now, he asked. I told him that's why I was there. Wanted to know if they fly in flocks like Canada Geese. I explained that that was mainly Swainson's Hawk and Broad-winged Hawk and further south Mississippi Kite. He pointed to my scope and wanted to know if I was photographing them. I said it was to help identify whether they were male or female, adult or immature of 17 different species, and that there were around 300 hawk watches in the country. Another hiker wanted to know how many hawks I had seen and which way were they flying at this season.
Weather:
The forecast was for light winds from the SE>E>NE with a chance of thunderstorms after 2:00 PM. At the watch the temperature was 16-28 F, humidity 33>23%, no cloud cover for the first 3 hours and minimal thereafter, visibility reduced to 3 km as a result of wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. The winds aloft at 700 hPa (up to 5000 feet above ground level) on Earth.nullschool.net was from the NW at 13 km/h. https://tinyurl.com/5fttcvpd with the small green circle representing the rough location of Dinosaur Ridge. The soaring forecast showed lift at 2.1 m/sec and thermals to 6726 feet above ground level.
Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall hawk count 2025. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk The first raptor was a local TV at 10:08 AM MDT, and it took until 10:34 to see the first migrant. I heard the squawk of a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay and saw an accipiter 10 ft away chasing it into a cedar. It was an SS which took off south, which was in turn chased by an AK, and both of them flew, chasing each other in turn and dropped. I thought they were non-migrants, but a few minutes later I saw them chasing each other overhead, and they eventually went to the south, so they were deemed migrants. A minute later a PG glided south almost overhead, and slightly to the east. Non-migrant raptors: GE juvenile at 12:47 PM with white at the base of the tail, small white ventral primary patches but none dorsally; PG At 11:43 and 11:58 AM; RT 1; TV 9.
Non-raptor Observations:
Spotted Towhee 1, Violet-green Swallow 35, Mourning Dove 1, Blue Jay 1, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 6, a single Canada Goose flying south, Common Raven 5. 4 paragliders.
Predictions:
Light N>NNE>WSW winds with a slight chance of thunderstorms after noon. https://tinyurl.com/4j9eafa6 shows winds aloft coming from the WNW at 19 km/hr.
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]
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, American White Pelican, and Dusky Grouse. 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)
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages