Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (12 Sep 2025) 4 Raptors
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Sep 12, 2025, 6:57:56 PM (6 days ago) Sep 12
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Weather:
The forecast on weather.gov was for SW winds at 6 mph increasing to 15 mph after 1:00 PM, with cloud cover of 61%. I have found that there is always more cloud cover at the hawk watch than is predicted, and sure enough at the watch it was 90% and increasing, temperature 25>29%, humidity 28>21%, visibility to 24 km, a light drizzle at times. To be honest with you, I had planned to stay home because conditions were exactly the same as the past 4 days with minimal migration, but I thought that the greater the number of days with the same conditions that we document a poor migration, the greater the predictability of such winds at this time of the year. According to earth.nullschool.net the winds aloft were to be from the WNW at 1 km/hr, local radar showed the precipitation within clouds moving from SW to NE. The watch is in between a high pressure and a low pressure zone - east of the low to the West, and NW of the high to the east. See https://earth.nullschool.net/#2025/09/12/1600Z/wind/isobaric/700hPa/orthographic=-110.78,27.20,783/loc=-105.700,39.506
Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall hawk count 2025. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk The first migrant at 9:49 AM MDT was a male AK which came through the valley just west of the watch, easily seen with the naked eye. At 11:39 AM an adult Golden Eagle migrated south, just gliding, needing my scope to identify and age it.
Non-raptor Observations:
Rock Wren 1. There must have been an inordinate number of insects in the air for I saw a large swoop/gulp/flight of 70 Violet-green Swallow.
Predictions:
The winds aloft are mainly from the SSW with localized winds at the watch from the NNW.
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 12, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| 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 | 0 | 14 | 64 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 16 | 22 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Short-eared Owl | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 4 | 53 | 141 |
| Observation start time: | 08:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 11:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 2.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: | Liza Antony |
Weather:
The forecast on weather.gov was for SW winds at 6 mph increasing to 15 mph after 1:00 PM, with cloud cover of 61%. I have found that there is always more cloud cover at the hawk watch than is predicted, and sure enough at the watch it was 90% and increasing, temperature 25>29%, humidity 28>21%, visibility to 24 km, a light drizzle at times. To be honest with you, I had planned to stay home because conditions were exactly the same as the past 4 days with minimal migration, but I thought that the greater the number of days with the same conditions that we document a poor migration, the greater the predictability of such winds at this time of the year. According to earth.nullschool.net the winds aloft were to be from the WNW at 1 km/hr, local radar showed the precipitation within clouds moving from SW to NE. The watch is in between a high pressure and a low pressure zone - east of the low to the West, and NW of the high to the east. See https://earth.nullschool.net/#2025/09/12/1600Z/wind/isobaric/700hPa/orthographic=-110.78,27.20,783/loc=-105.700,39.506
Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall hawk count 2025. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk The first migrant at 9:49 AM MDT was a male AK which came through the valley just west of the watch, easily seen with the naked eye. At 11:39 AM an adult Golden Eagle migrated south, just gliding, needing my scope to identify and age it.
Non-raptor Observations:
Rock Wren 1. There must have been an inordinate number of insects in the air for I saw a large swoop/gulp/flight of 70 Violet-green Swallow.
Predictions:
The winds aloft are mainly from the SSW with localized winds at the watch from the NNW.
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)
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