Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (01 Apr 2019) 4 Raptors
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Apr 1, 2019, 8:33:32 PM4/1/19
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Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA
Visitors:
After having heard of HawkWatch through the DFO (Denver Field Ornithologists), Chris Curwen arrived in the morning in time to see a few migrants. He then stayed and helped for the rest of the watch which was much appreciated. Not many people came onto the platform; those that did came mainly for the view. One young couple asked to have their photo taken.
Weather:
Partly-cloudy day with a few large shifts back and forth between about 70-percent and 30-percent cloud-cover. Although calm in the morning, the winds, for about a half-hour, became extremely variable with mild winds occasionally whipping to gusts of bft 3 that weirdly seemed to come from the south, southeast and north before the pattern settled into fairly steady northwesterly winds (bft 3-4) by 11:00am MST. Temperatures on the platform ranged from 5.5 C to 10 C, dropping to 8 C due to the cooler northwesterly winds. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
The Cooper's Hawk and the three Red-tailed Hawk migrants all passed north within the first three hours, either over the Ridge or the west-side valley. Notably, this was before the northwestern winds began. Still, the local Red-tailed Hawks, including the one missing a tail feather, did not seem to be bothered at all by the wind direction as they sailed up and down the ridges and valleys, always slowing and turning before we could make them into migrants. One local Red-tailed Hawk, that carried a small rodent in its talons, happily performed some shallow roller-coaster moves over the west side valley near the platform. A local female American Kestrel was spotted zipping south low in Rooney Valley in the morning. A local Turkey Vulture once again came north along the Ridge near to the platform before returning south. Two local adult Golden Eagles flew and circled in tandem high over the platform in the afternoon, continuing their dance eventually to the west over I70.
Non-raptor Observations:
Four Common Ravens circled and soared as a (family?) group above the platform in the morning. A couple hours later one Common Raven flew past carrying a small white sphere (about the size of a ping-pong or golf ball) in its beak. A few Mule deer were seen on the east flank of the ridge. Also seen or heard were Spotted Towhee, Western Bluebird, a goose species, Townsend's Solitaire, a group of 4-6 Bushtits, Western Meadowlark (heard in Rooney Valley), Dark-eyed Junco, Mountain Chickadee, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, and American Robin.
Report submitted by Matthew Smith (matt....@birdconservancy.org)
Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.org/
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
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: Apr 01, 2019 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 3 | 96 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Total: | 4 | 4 | 151 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Chris Curwen |
Visitors:
After having heard of HawkWatch through the DFO (Denver Field Ornithologists), Chris Curwen arrived in the morning in time to see a few migrants. He then stayed and helped for the rest of the watch which was much appreciated. Not many people came onto the platform; those that did came mainly for the view. One young couple asked to have their photo taken.
Weather:
Partly-cloudy day with a few large shifts back and forth between about 70-percent and 30-percent cloud-cover. Although calm in the morning, the winds, for about a half-hour, became extremely variable with mild winds occasionally whipping to gusts of bft 3 that weirdly seemed to come from the south, southeast and north before the pattern settled into fairly steady northwesterly winds (bft 3-4) by 11:00am MST. Temperatures on the platform ranged from 5.5 C to 10 C, dropping to 8 C due to the cooler northwesterly winds. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
The Cooper's Hawk and the three Red-tailed Hawk migrants all passed north within the first three hours, either over the Ridge or the west-side valley. Notably, this was before the northwestern winds began. Still, the local Red-tailed Hawks, including the one missing a tail feather, did not seem to be bothered at all by the wind direction as they sailed up and down the ridges and valleys, always slowing and turning before we could make them into migrants. One local Red-tailed Hawk, that carried a small rodent in its talons, happily performed some shallow roller-coaster moves over the west side valley near the platform. A local female American Kestrel was spotted zipping south low in Rooney Valley in the morning. A local Turkey Vulture once again came north along the Ridge near to the platform before returning south. Two local adult Golden Eagles flew and circled in tandem high over the platform in the afternoon, continuing their dance eventually to the west over I70.
Non-raptor Observations:
Four Common Ravens circled and soared as a (family?) group above the platform in the morning. A couple hours later one Common Raven flew past carrying a small white sphere (about the size of a ping-pong or golf ball) in its beak. A few Mule deer were seen on the east flank of the ridge. Also seen or heard were Spotted Towhee, Western Bluebird, a goose species, Townsend's Solitaire, a group of 4-6 Bushtits, Western Meadowlark (heard in Rooney Valley), Dark-eyed Junco, Mountain Chickadee, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, and American Robin.
Report submitted by Matthew Smith (matt....@birdconservancy.org)
Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.org/
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
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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