Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (07 May 2017) 1 Raptors
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May 7, 2017, 8:07:21 PM5/7/17
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Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA
Visitors:
Midge and Joan, experienced birders who counted for DinoHawk during the DMNS days and are very active birders to this day, joined for an hour to help keep the watch. Later, Bill joined. He moved to Colorado from the east coast six weeks ago and was eager to spot canyon wrens and rock wrens and will likely show up to help next season. I gave all three of them DinoHawk info cards to take home. Since there were so few migrators to count, i counted humans migrating to the experience of the platform: 48 individual visitors made it up to the station and at least said hello today. Midge and Joan are now my favorite visitors of all (my) time on HawkWatch. They told me they really appreciated that young people like me (i'm going on 63 yrs old) were participating in HawkWatch.
Weather:
The day started out under thick 100% cloud cover with some low hanging dark billowy areas and little to no wind; it continued that way until the end of watch, when i scrambled down the Zorro trail as a thunderstorm moved in. A curtain of rain to the south moved in at 1215 mst. By 1230 rain sheets moved in from the south and the wind picked up. I departed when I saw lightning strikes. By the time i reached the bottom of the Zorro trail, the storm had veered east of Green Mountain. The wind was gusting and the sky to the west broke into patches of blue above the western ridges. At that moment, two local Red-taileds circled above the Rooney Valley. But by then it was 1:00 mst so I decided not to not return up the hill. WUnderground PWS: Solterra.
Raptor Observations:
Migrating Raptors: After three initial hours of no sightings (08:00-11:00 MST), yet another look through the binocs down ridge, and bursting through a cloud of dozens of Violet-green Swallows, a Sharpee sailed directly above the platform. He was the dramatic soloist for the final day of migration watch on Dinosaur Ridge. Sharp-shinned Hawk (1). Non-Migrating Raptors: Turkey Vultures at end of watch circled high overhead above the ridge and then turned west over I-70. Early in the watch two non-migrating Red-tailed Hawks circled togethers above Mt. Morrison. As i was dashing down the Zorro trail at watch end, two non-migrating Red-taileds sailed the NE winds above Rooney Valley. Turkey Vulture (3), Red-tailed Hawk (5), Falcon sp (1).
Non-raptor Observations:
Several white throated swifts above the ridge all day moving north and south and east and west, always staying close by. Violet-green Swallows were prominent all day. Highlight of today: Green-tailed Towhee about half-way down the east ridge on my way out. Decent photos. Beautiful bird! Photo posted on eBird. Canada Goose (3), Rock Pigeon (1), White-throated Swift (6), Broad-tailed Hummingbird (1), Black-billed Magpie (4), Violet-green Swallow (50), Rock Wren (1), Canyon Wren (1), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (2), Green-tailed Towhee (1), Spotted Towhee (3), Western Meadowlark (2). Reported on eBird.
Predictions:
Curtains of rain and flashes of lightning ended the 2017 HawkWatch season today. No NOGO, RLHA or MERL this year. Predictions: An unofficial pre-season watch in February? Who's up for that? And the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies BBQ for the Birds gathering on Saturday, May 13. Hope to see you there!
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: May 07, 2017 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 3 | 72 |
| Osprey | 0 | 4 | 13 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | 16 | 64 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 6 | 69 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 4 | 23 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 1 | 264 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 4 | 46 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 6 | 17 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 28 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 3 | 27 |
| Total: | 1 | 51 | 692 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 12:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 4.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Mike Fernandez |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
Midge and Joan, experienced birders who counted for DinoHawk during the DMNS days and are very active birders to this day, joined for an hour to help keep the watch. Later, Bill joined. He moved to Colorado from the east coast six weeks ago and was eager to spot canyon wrens and rock wrens and will likely show up to help next season. I gave all three of them DinoHawk info cards to take home. Since there were so few migrators to count, i counted humans migrating to the experience of the platform: 48 individual visitors made it up to the station and at least said hello today. Midge and Joan are now my favorite visitors of all (my) time on HawkWatch. They told me they really appreciated that young people like me (i'm going on 63 yrs old) were participating in HawkWatch.
Weather:
The day started out under thick 100% cloud cover with some low hanging dark billowy areas and little to no wind; it continued that way until the end of watch, when i scrambled down the Zorro trail as a thunderstorm moved in. A curtain of rain to the south moved in at 1215 mst. By 1230 rain sheets moved in from the south and the wind picked up. I departed when I saw lightning strikes. By the time i reached the bottom of the Zorro trail, the storm had veered east of Green Mountain. The wind was gusting and the sky to the west broke into patches of blue above the western ridges. At that moment, two local Red-taileds circled above the Rooney Valley. But by then it was 1:00 mst so I decided not to not return up the hill. WUnderground PWS: Solterra.
Raptor Observations:
Migrating Raptors: After three initial hours of no sightings (08:00-11:00 MST), yet another look through the binocs down ridge, and bursting through a cloud of dozens of Violet-green Swallows, a Sharpee sailed directly above the platform. He was the dramatic soloist for the final day of migration watch on Dinosaur Ridge. Sharp-shinned Hawk (1). Non-Migrating Raptors: Turkey Vultures at end of watch circled high overhead above the ridge and then turned west over I-70. Early in the watch two non-migrating Red-tailed Hawks circled togethers above Mt. Morrison. As i was dashing down the Zorro trail at watch end, two non-migrating Red-taileds sailed the NE winds above Rooney Valley. Turkey Vulture (3), Red-tailed Hawk (5), Falcon sp (1).
Non-raptor Observations:
Several white throated swifts above the ridge all day moving north and south and east and west, always staying close by. Violet-green Swallows were prominent all day. Highlight of today: Green-tailed Towhee about half-way down the east ridge on my way out. Decent photos. Beautiful bird! Photo posted on eBird. Canada Goose (3), Rock Pigeon (1), White-throated Swift (6), Broad-tailed Hummingbird (1), Black-billed Magpie (4), Violet-green Swallow (50), Rock Wren (1), Canyon Wren (1), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (2), Green-tailed Towhee (1), Spotted Towhee (3), Western Meadowlark (2). Reported on eBird.
Predictions:
Curtains of rain and flashes of lightning ended the 2017 HawkWatch season today. No NOGO, RLHA or MERL this year. Predictions: An unofficial pre-season watch in February? Who's up for that? And the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies BBQ for the Birds gathering on Saturday, May 13. Hope to see you there!
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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