Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (08 Apr 2024) 113 Raptors
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Apr 8, 2024, 11:08:35 PM4/8/24
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Colorado, USA
Visitors:
We had 41 visitors to the ridge today. A lot of them were there to see the eclipse, but were overjoyed to learn that there was a Hawk Watch in the Denver area. A few visitors were alternating between binoculars and the eclipse glasses ready to see all of the amazing sights overhead. Shoutout to Joel Brewer, Perrin Robinson, Elissa Robinson, and Greg Yugov for visiting us on the ridge and then hanging out for a few hours trying to help us spot the migrating raptors.
Weather:
Today was a warm sunny day with a good amount of cloud. The winds fluctuated between East and Southeast all day today. Around 11:30 MST there was a partial eclipse. At our sight was about 60-65% coverage of the sun. Thank you to Marianne and Dave Erickson for the solar eclipse glasses.
Raptor Observations:
Our early morning migrants were more tucked into their glides then usual. Their wingtips were closer to their tails. I assume that this was because of high, strong tail-winds. We started off today with 0 migrants in the first hour, and then went on to have our best day of the year so far with 113 migrants!!! We had a kettle of 15 Turkey Vultures that might be the biggest kettle seen at this site in the last 20 years. At least the biggest in the last 3-5 years. We had another immature goshawk at the ridge today that gave us a great close-up view!! We also had our first Swainson's hawk of the year!! In local news, we had our usual Red-tailed hawks, a Cooper's Hawk, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a couple Bald Eagles, and a few Golden Eagles.
Non-raptor Observations:
We saw our first swallows from the ridge today, and I believe they were all tree swallows. There was plenty of White-throated Swifts as well. On Green Mountain right after the eclipse we saw 4 or 5 llamas being walked along a trail. I hope they had eclipse glasses as well, but it was too far away to tell.
Predictions:
Tomorrow looks to be another warm, mostly sunny day with a wind mostly from the North. I have no idea if the high count today will limit the number of migrants tomorrow, or if migration is just going to keep increasing. Grab some sunblock, and maybe a wind jacket, and join Emma up there tomorrow to see what happens on the ridge after a fantastic day.
Report submitted by Official Counter (j.f.pe...@gmail.com)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: http://www.dfobirds.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 a
Hawk Counter and volunteers from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM from March 1st to May 10th,
weather permitting.
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)
Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 08, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 41 | 116 | 146 |
| Osprey | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 5 | 35 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 5 | 13 | 29 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 13 | 32 | 53 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 12 | 53 | 314 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 1 | 3 | 15 |
| Golden Eagle | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| American Kestrel | 30 | 69 | 91 |
| Merlin | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 113 | 316 | 742 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 17:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8 hours |
| Official Counter | Dustin Kohler |
| Observers: | Emma Riley, Joel Brewer, Mike Serruto, Ryan Corda, Ryan Gannon, Shay Lyons |
Visitors:
We had 41 visitors to the ridge today. A lot of them were there to see the eclipse, but were overjoyed to learn that there was a Hawk Watch in the Denver area. A few visitors were alternating between binoculars and the eclipse glasses ready to see all of the amazing sights overhead. Shoutout to Joel Brewer, Perrin Robinson, Elissa Robinson, and Greg Yugov for visiting us on the ridge and then hanging out for a few hours trying to help us spot the migrating raptors.
Weather:
Today was a warm sunny day with a good amount of cloud. The winds fluctuated between East and Southeast all day today. Around 11:30 MST there was a partial eclipse. At our sight was about 60-65% coverage of the sun. Thank you to Marianne and Dave Erickson for the solar eclipse glasses.
Raptor Observations:
Our early morning migrants were more tucked into their glides then usual. Their wingtips were closer to their tails. I assume that this was because of high, strong tail-winds. We started off today with 0 migrants in the first hour, and then went on to have our best day of the year so far with 113 migrants!!! We had a kettle of 15 Turkey Vultures that might be the biggest kettle seen at this site in the last 20 years. At least the biggest in the last 3-5 years. We had another immature goshawk at the ridge today that gave us a great close-up view!! We also had our first Swainson's hawk of the year!! In local news, we had our usual Red-tailed hawks, a Cooper's Hawk, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a couple Bald Eagles, and a few Golden Eagles.
Non-raptor Observations:
We saw our first swallows from the ridge today, and I believe they were all tree swallows. There was plenty of White-throated Swifts as well. On Green Mountain right after the eclipse we saw 4 or 5 llamas being walked along a trail. I hope they had eclipse glasses as well, but it was too far away to tell.
Predictions:
Tomorrow looks to be another warm, mostly sunny day with a wind mostly from the North. I have no idea if the high count today will limit the number of migrants tomorrow, or if migration is just going to keep increasing. Grab some sunblock, and maybe a wind jacket, and join Emma up there tomorrow to see what happens on the ridge after a fantastic day.
Report submitted by Official Counter (j.f.pe...@gmail.com)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: http://www.dfobirds.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 a
Hawk Counter and volunteers from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM from March 1st to May 10th,
weather permitting.
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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