Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (16 Mar 2020) 16 Raptors
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Mar 16, 2020, 10:24:35 PM3/16/20
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Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Colorado, USA
Visitors:
Many hikers and some bikers were on the trail today. Many of these came up to the platform, mostly for the view. There were more small groups of teenagers and also families with young kids and dogs than usual for a weekday. Everybody tried to practice “social distancing.†A few visitors did ask what we were doing or seeing. John Dwyer came up in the afternoon armed with a big camera and binoculars; luckily he did get to see a few raptors including some local Golden Eagles. David Gulbenkian also came up for a while to help spot.
Weather:
Early morning blue skies were replaced by 90- to 95-percent thin, gauzy cloud-cover by mid-morning, the perfect type of hawk-watching sky! Winds were initially from the west (bft 2) but shifted by 9am MST to come steadily from the east (bft 3) until about noon MST when they shifted once again to come from the northeast (bft 4), bringing a smoky haze over the area and dropping the temperature a bit. Temperatures rose from 9C to 16.5C then dropped to 13C with the northeast winds.
Raptor Observations:
In spite of the perfect sky for hawk-watching, the watch was mostly pretty slow. At least we were fairly sure nothing was getting by us. Then, the flood gates opened briefly for about 10 minutes just after 11:00am MST when a kettle of Red-tailed Hawks was spotted by Carol very high over the north end of the west side valley. Six of the eight Red-tails circling there soon peeled off and shot north, two of these being dark-morphs. Just a few minutes later two more adult Red-tailed Hawks were spotted high, migrating north. At about the same time, a north-bound sub-adult Bald Eagle was seen high above the platform, dark winged with a dark-tipped whitish tail. Some of this migrant burst might well have been missed if Carol hadn’t been there to help. Thanks Carol! Later in the afternoon, two similarly-sized, white-headed and white-tailed, adult Bald Eagles flew in from the southeast up Rooney Valley; they continued together, at a leisurely pace, north of Cabrini Hill, eventually disappearing to the northwest. Early in the morning, a local Red-tailed Hawk pair was spotted flying over the west side valley. The larger female carried a fairly short flat stick of sorts in her beak. Her partner flew not far above her, apparently escorting her as they flew to the west. The local Golden Eagle pair made a few appearances today, coming south together only to circle up over the west side valley in the morning. In the afternoon, the GOEA pair was seen heading south down Rooney Valley. Shortly after these GOEAs had passed, a local Red-tailed Hawk could be heard calling out and was soon seen flying south straight down Rooney Valley. Within minutes, one of the Golden Eagles was observed heading back north up Rooney Valley and it was being closely followed by said Red-tail. Both were slightly below eye-level to the HawkWatch platform, giving a beautiful view. John Dwyer and I truly enjoyed the moment.
Non-raptor Observations:
At least four Townsend's Solitaires flew up and down the Ridge today; one sang some of its beautiful song for us. Several American Robins were seen moving about on the ridges, seemingly heading north. A half-dozen or so Mountain Bluebirds flew north past the platform in the afternoon. Also seen or heard today were Black-billed Magpie, Spotted Towhee, Mountain Chickadee, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch, Rock Pigeon, Common Raven, and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay. Six elk were seen near Cabrini Hill in the afternoon.
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: Mar 16, 2020 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 | 9 | 9 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 12 | 44 | 44 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Total: | 16 | 65 | 65 |
| Observation start time: | 07:45:00 |
| Observation end time: | 14:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 6.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Carol Cwiklinski, David Gulbenkian |
Visitors:
Many hikers and some bikers were on the trail today. Many of these came up to the platform, mostly for the view. There were more small groups of teenagers and also families with young kids and dogs than usual for a weekday. Everybody tried to practice “social distancing.†A few visitors did ask what we were doing or seeing. John Dwyer came up in the afternoon armed with a big camera and binoculars; luckily he did get to see a few raptors including some local Golden Eagles. David Gulbenkian also came up for a while to help spot.
Weather:
Early morning blue skies were replaced by 90- to 95-percent thin, gauzy cloud-cover by mid-morning, the perfect type of hawk-watching sky! Winds were initially from the west (bft 2) but shifted by 9am MST to come steadily from the east (bft 3) until about noon MST when they shifted once again to come from the northeast (bft 4), bringing a smoky haze over the area and dropping the temperature a bit. Temperatures rose from 9C to 16.5C then dropped to 13C with the northeast winds.
Raptor Observations:
In spite of the perfect sky for hawk-watching, the watch was mostly pretty slow. At least we were fairly sure nothing was getting by us. Then, the flood gates opened briefly for about 10 minutes just after 11:00am MST when a kettle of Red-tailed Hawks was spotted by Carol very high over the north end of the west side valley. Six of the eight Red-tails circling there soon peeled off and shot north, two of these being dark-morphs. Just a few minutes later two more adult Red-tailed Hawks were spotted high, migrating north. At about the same time, a north-bound sub-adult Bald Eagle was seen high above the platform, dark winged with a dark-tipped whitish tail. Some of this migrant burst might well have been missed if Carol hadn’t been there to help. Thanks Carol! Later in the afternoon, two similarly-sized, white-headed and white-tailed, adult Bald Eagles flew in from the southeast up Rooney Valley; they continued together, at a leisurely pace, north of Cabrini Hill, eventually disappearing to the northwest. Early in the morning, a local Red-tailed Hawk pair was spotted flying over the west side valley. The larger female carried a fairly short flat stick of sorts in her beak. Her partner flew not far above her, apparently escorting her as they flew to the west. The local Golden Eagle pair made a few appearances today, coming south together only to circle up over the west side valley in the morning. In the afternoon, the GOEA pair was seen heading south down Rooney Valley. Shortly after these GOEAs had passed, a local Red-tailed Hawk could be heard calling out and was soon seen flying south straight down Rooney Valley. Within minutes, one of the Golden Eagles was observed heading back north up Rooney Valley and it was being closely followed by said Red-tail. Both were slightly below eye-level to the HawkWatch platform, giving a beautiful view. John Dwyer and I truly enjoyed the moment.
Non-raptor Observations:
At least four Townsend's Solitaires flew up and down the Ridge today; one sang some of its beautiful song for us. Several American Robins were seen moving about on the ridges, seemingly heading north. A half-dozen or so Mountain Bluebirds flew north past the platform in the afternoon. Also seen or heard today were Black-billed Magpie, Spotted Towhee, Mountain Chickadee, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch, Rock Pigeon, Common Raven, and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay. Six elk were seen near Cabrini Hill in the afternoon.
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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