Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (02 Sep 2025) 8 Raptors
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Sep 2, 2025, 7:23:03 PM (5 days ago) Sep 2
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Weather:
The conditions were very similar to yesterday as far as the winds aloft predicted on Earth.nullschool.net with an excellent soaring forecast. There was a perfectly blue sky but the first cumulogenic clouds were seen to the NW, and by the 3rd hour there was a good bank of clouds going all the way from north to SW almost a binocular field wide. The count began with light winds from the SW changing to east, temperature 21> 26 degrees Celsius, lower humidity 25>22%, maximum cloud cover only 15%, excellent visibility to 24 km.
Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall hawk count 2025. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk The first migrant was an adult SW over the power cut at 9:26 AM MDT. Non migrant raptors: CH 1, RT two, TV 5 and one which glided arrow-straight and fast from the north southward and was lost against the trees on the north flank of Mount Morrison - not counted as I couldn't see it south of that mountain. I was surprised there were not many more migrants with the continuous streaming winds coming down from Canada. See https://tinyurl.com/jk6x4b35, the green circle roughly at Dinosaur Ridge. By 1:00 PM it was really hot, with no shade and very little cooling wind so we decided to quit, especially as there were no migrants seen for an hour. Waiting yesterday until 5:00 PM did not yield too many migrants with similar conditions.
Non-raptor Observations:
Clark's Nutcracker 3 flew low over the watch, Rock Wren 1, Barn Swallow 1. Violet-green Swallow 2, White-breasted nuthatch interior West 1, Downy Woodbecker 1, Common Raven 2, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1. 3 paragliders.
Predictions:
Quite similar to today in terms of wind and cloud cover.
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 02, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 2 | 3 | 53 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 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: | 8 | 12 | 100 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 12:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 4 hours |
| Official Counter | Ajit Antony |
| Observers: | Liza Antony |
Weather:
The conditions were very similar to yesterday as far as the winds aloft predicted on Earth.nullschool.net with an excellent soaring forecast. There was a perfectly blue sky but the first cumulogenic clouds were seen to the NW, and by the 3rd hour there was a good bank of clouds going all the way from north to SW almost a binocular field wide. The count began with light winds from the SW changing to east, temperature 21> 26 degrees Celsius, lower humidity 25>22%, maximum cloud cover only 15%, excellent visibility to 24 km.
Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall hawk count 2025. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk The first migrant was an adult SW over the power cut at 9:26 AM MDT. Non migrant raptors: CH 1, RT two, TV 5 and one which glided arrow-straight and fast from the north southward and was lost against the trees on the north flank of Mount Morrison - not counted as I couldn't see it south of that mountain. I was surprised there were not many more migrants with the continuous streaming winds coming down from Canada. See https://tinyurl.com/jk6x4b35, the green circle roughly at Dinosaur Ridge. By 1:00 PM it was really hot, with no shade and very little cooling wind so we decided to quit, especially as there were no migrants seen for an hour. Waiting yesterday until 5:00 PM did not yield too many migrants with similar conditions.
Non-raptor Observations:
Clark's Nutcracker 3 flew low over the watch, Rock Wren 1, Barn Swallow 1. Violet-green Swallow 2, White-breasted nuthatch interior West 1, Downy Woodbecker 1, Common Raven 2, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay 1. 3 paragliders.
Predictions:
Quite similar to today in terms of wind and cloud cover.
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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