Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (27 Apr 2025) 32 Raptors
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Apr 27, 2025, 10:59:48 PM4/27/25
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
Thank you to our Sunday official observer on staff Laura Farnsworth, high school intern Haley Caron, and our other visitors and volunteers that helped us look for migrants today. We had a total 58 visitors on the ridge today with a handful stopping to ask questions for 10+ minutes. Many people are interested in the pathways and destinations featured in raptor migrations. Can't make it out to the ridge and still want to follow along? Check out our Trektellen page and follow along with live updates at https://www.trektellen.org/count/view/4515/20250301 .
Weather:
Today was a hot and windy day on the ridge today with clear blue skies for the first half of the day, and some nice cloud cover in the second half of the day. Thermals were strong by 0900 MST. Winds varied a bit between NW and SW for most of the day. Wind speeds picked up significantly in the 1500 MST hour leading to us ending the count an hour early.
Raptor Observations:
Migration was slow going in the morning and all but absent in the afternoon. Our first few migrants of the day came low overhead, but birds quickly got incredibly high with the strong thermal activity today. Buteos and Turkey Vultures took advantage of the thermals today, being the main source of activity seen. Accipitrines came through generally lower than other migrants. One lone American Kestrel was counted today. Turkey Vultures continue to scatter the sky for most of the day giving us some work in sorting them out as migrants or locals. Up to 6 continue to be seen at once in the area. Local Golden Eagle (2), Red-tailed Hawk (6), Swainson's Hawk (1), Cooper's Hawk (1), Sharp-shinned Hawk (1), American Kestrel (1),
Non-raptor Observations:
Canada Goose 4, White-throated Swift 51, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 1, Northern Flicker 1, Say's Phoebe 1, Blue Jay 10, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay 4, Black-billed Magpie 3, Common Raven 1, Tree Swallow 5, Violet-green Swallow 18, Cliff Swallow 2, Rock Wren 1, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, House Finch 1, Chipping Sparrow 8, Spotted Towhee 4, Western Meadowlark 2, Red-winged Blackbird 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 3
Predictions:
There is the potential for rain for the next few days with winds predicted to come out of the W for most of the day tomorrow. Winds look to be more ideal for migration on Tuesday. We are getting very close to our 3000th bird of the season, a massive milestone for us! Come enjoy the end of this outstanding season with us in the next two weeks.
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: Apr 27, 2025 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 5 | 330 | 371 |
| Osprey | 0 | 70 | 74 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 17 | 44 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 | 48 | 56 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 6 | 298 | 326 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 4 | 235 | 284 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 5 | 239 | 239 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 7 | 222 | 487 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 3 | 37 | 37 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 14 | 29 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 5 | 24 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 822 | 924 |
| Merlin | 0 | 11 | 16 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 11 | 14 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| Total: | 32 | 2372 | 2945 |
| Observation start time: | 06:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10 hours |
| Official Counter | Audrey Anderson, Emma Riley, Emma Riley, Audrey Anderson |
| Observers: | Ajit Antony, Cayce Gulbransen , Chris Gulbransen , Haley Caron, Laura Farnsworth |
Visitors:
Thank you to our Sunday official observer on staff Laura Farnsworth, high school intern Haley Caron, and our other visitors and volunteers that helped us look for migrants today. We had a total 58 visitors on the ridge today with a handful stopping to ask questions for 10+ minutes. Many people are interested in the pathways and destinations featured in raptor migrations. Can't make it out to the ridge and still want to follow along? Check out our Trektellen page and follow along with live updates at https://www.trektellen.org/count/view/4515/20250301 .
Weather:
Today was a hot and windy day on the ridge today with clear blue skies for the first half of the day, and some nice cloud cover in the second half of the day. Thermals were strong by 0900 MST. Winds varied a bit between NW and SW for most of the day. Wind speeds picked up significantly in the 1500 MST hour leading to us ending the count an hour early.
Raptor Observations:
Migration was slow going in the morning and all but absent in the afternoon. Our first few migrants of the day came low overhead, but birds quickly got incredibly high with the strong thermal activity today. Buteos and Turkey Vultures took advantage of the thermals today, being the main source of activity seen. Accipitrines came through generally lower than other migrants. One lone American Kestrel was counted today. Turkey Vultures continue to scatter the sky for most of the day giving us some work in sorting them out as migrants or locals. Up to 6 continue to be seen at once in the area. Local Golden Eagle (2), Red-tailed Hawk (6), Swainson's Hawk (1), Cooper's Hawk (1), Sharp-shinned Hawk (1), American Kestrel (1),
Non-raptor Observations:
Canada Goose 4, White-throated Swift 51, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 1, Northern Flicker 1, Say's Phoebe 1, Blue Jay 10, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay 4, Black-billed Magpie 3, Common Raven 1, Tree Swallow 5, Violet-green Swallow 18, Cliff Swallow 2, Rock Wren 1, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, House Finch 1, Chipping Sparrow 8, Spotted Towhee 4, Western Meadowlark 2, Red-winged Blackbird 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 3
Predictions:
There is the potential for rain for the next few days with winds predicted to come out of the W for most of the day tomorrow. Winds look to be more ideal for migration on Tuesday. We are getting very close to our 3000th bird of the season, a massive milestone for us! Come enjoy the end of this outstanding season with us in the next two weeks.
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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