Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (02 Mar 2026) 1 Raptors
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rep...@hawkcount.org
Mar 2, 2026, 9:30:39 PM (12 hours ago) Mar 2
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Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Visitors:
It was a slow day along the trail today with a total of 4 visitors. Thanks to Cayce and Chris Gulbransen, and Mike Serruto for their help on the ridge today.
Weather:
We had another warm spring day at the ridge with warm temperatures and light winds. Winds were predicted to reach 20 mph but stayed light all day. Clouds were varied in size, shape, and color all day making for excellent spotting conditions.
Raptor Observations:
Another excellent early season day full of local raptor activity. Red-tailed Hawks scattered the sky for much of the day preforming territorial and courtship behaviors again. One adult was seen mobbing a Golden Eagle again. The highlight of the day was a Prairie Falcon that was first spotted just E of the ridge before gaining some great height and moving S. We are hoping this bird might be moving in to the Ship Rock falcon scrape. We also spotted a few Bald Eagles and two Cooper’s Hawks that didn’t migrate. We had one migrating Red-tailed Hawk. It was a great day for Mountain Bluebirds with a total count of 124 moving north. We also had some early season Sandhill Cranes!
Non-raptor Observations:
Canada Goose 22, Sandhill Crane 3, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 2, American Bushtit 3, Mountain Bluebird 124, American Robin 1, House Finch 1, Dark-eyed Junco 2
Predictions:
Temperatures drop tomorrow with a chance for precipitation in the afternoon. Winds are predicted to come from the NE for most of the day. We are hoping to get a full day of counting in and some much needed precipitation! The trail may be muddy at the end of the day depending on rain presence.
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 02, 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 | 0 | 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 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 1 | 9 | 9 |
| Observation start time: | 09:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6 hours |
| Official Counter | Emma Riley, Soren Zappia |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
It was a slow day along the trail today with a total of 4 visitors. Thanks to Cayce and Chris Gulbransen, and Mike Serruto for their help on the ridge today.
Weather:
We had another warm spring day at the ridge with warm temperatures and light winds. Winds were predicted to reach 20 mph but stayed light all day. Clouds were varied in size, shape, and color all day making for excellent spotting conditions.
Raptor Observations:
Another excellent early season day full of local raptor activity. Red-tailed Hawks scattered the sky for much of the day preforming territorial and courtship behaviors again. One adult was seen mobbing a Golden Eagle again. The highlight of the day was a Prairie Falcon that was first spotted just E of the ridge before gaining some great height and moving S. We are hoping this bird might be moving in to the Ship Rock falcon scrape. We also spotted a few Bald Eagles and two Cooper’s Hawks that didn’t migrate. We had one migrating Red-tailed Hawk. It was a great day for Mountain Bluebirds with a total count of 124 moving north. We also had some early season Sandhill Cranes!
Non-raptor Observations:
Canada Goose 22, Sandhill Crane 3, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 2, American Bushtit 3, Mountain Bluebird 124, American Robin 1, House Finch 1, Dark-eyed Junco 2
Predictions:
Temperatures drop tomorrow with a chance for precipitation in the afternoon. Winds are predicted to come from the NE for most of the day. We are hoping to get a full day of counting in and some much needed precipitation! The trail may be muddy at the end of the day depending on rain presence.
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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