Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (01 Mar 2026) 8 Raptors
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Mar 1, 2026, 10:42:56 PM (21 hours ago) Mar 1
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
It was a steady day with local visitors and out of state visitors. A total of 27 people interacted with the count in one way or another, many of them asking about our activity for the day. Thank you to Cayce and Chris Gulbransen for their help at the site this morning!
Weather:
We had a pretty perfect first day with scattered clouds, warm temperatures, and light SE winds for most of the day. In the afternoon heavier clouds rolled in from the W dropping temperatures a bit. We had a very light drizzle at the end of the day, something we desperately need along the front range this spring.
Raptor Observations:
Let the 2026 season begin! Today was our first day back on the ridge and we couldn’t be happier. We had a fun day with lots of local RT, GE, BE, and NH activity. Up to 6 RT at once could be seen performing territorial displays, mobbing the local GE, and overall perusing the landscape. We had 8 total migrants including 2 FH! We have seen FH on the first day a few times since 2020, but never 2. We also had a dark-morph RT come overhead going S. Lots of local birds were seen E of the site, with most of the migrants seen W of the site. We enjoyed watching migrants move from one thermal to the next.
Non-raptor Observations:
Magpie 1, Common Raven 7, Black-capped Chickadee 1, American Bushtit 4, Mountain Bluebird 85, Townsend's Solitaire 2, American Robin 1, House Finch 4, Pine Siskin 5, Dark-eyed Junco 2
Predictions:
Tomorrow should be warmer than today with winds predominantly from the W. The trail should be dry and it should be another beautiful, maybe a bit windy, day on the ridge.
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]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org - [Project Details]
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, and American White Pelican. 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: Mar 01, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Observation start time: | 09:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley |
| Observers: | Soren Zappia |
Visitors:
It was a steady day with local visitors and out of state visitors. A total of 27 people interacted with the count in one way or another, many of them asking about our activity for the day. Thank you to Cayce and Chris Gulbransen for their help at the site this morning!
Weather:
We had a pretty perfect first day with scattered clouds, warm temperatures, and light SE winds for most of the day. In the afternoon heavier clouds rolled in from the W dropping temperatures a bit. We had a very light drizzle at the end of the day, something we desperately need along the front range this spring.
Raptor Observations:
Let the 2026 season begin! Today was our first day back on the ridge and we couldn’t be happier. We had a fun day with lots of local RT, GE, BE, and NH activity. Up to 6 RT at once could be seen performing territorial displays, mobbing the local GE, and overall perusing the landscape. We had 8 total migrants including 2 FH! We have seen FH on the first day a few times since 2020, but never 2. We also had a dark-morph RT come overhead going S. Lots of local birds were seen E of the site, with most of the migrants seen W of the site. We enjoyed watching migrants move from one thermal to the next.
Non-raptor Observations:
Magpie 1, Common Raven 7, Black-capped Chickadee 1, American Bushtit 4, Mountain Bluebird 85, Townsend's Solitaire 2, American Robin 1, House Finch 4, Pine Siskin 5, Dark-eyed Junco 2
Predictions:
Tomorrow should be warmer than today with winds predominantly from the W. The trail should be dry and it should be another beautiful, maybe a bit windy, day on the ridge.
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]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org - [Project Details]
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, and American White Pelican. 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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