Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 25, 2012 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 42 | 122 | 122 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| American Kestrel | 3 | 15 | 15 |
| Merlin | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Total: | 53 | 187 | 187 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7 hours |
| Official Counter | Francis Commercon |
| Observers: | Bill Wuerthele, Chris Tremmeling , Cyndy Johnson, Joe Lupfer, Joyce Commercon, Karen Clark |
Visitors:
A crowd was present when we arrived, all watching Elk. A couple came up who knew Bill, their names were David and Kathleen, and they helped hawk watch for a while. From 11:00 to 2:00 Chris and Kayleen Tremelling came up and were very helpful in spotting and identifying raptors.
Weather:
Today was very warm, with mostly clear skies about midday. The sky was mostly overcast by the time we left, and was overcast early in the morning. Winds were relatively light, never exceeding a level 2, and, excepting the hour of 8:00-9:00AM, during which they blew from the northwest, they blew mostly from the East and northeast.
Raptor Observations:
Most migrants were spotted to the west, and very far away or very high up. A Rough Legged Hawk was seen flying directly over the ridge at 11:00AM. Highlights were also a high flying Cooper's Hawk and an immature Golden Eagle that passed directly over the Ridge. A local Female kestrel was seen early in the afternoon. Very few local Red Tailed hawks were present, despite the abundance of migrating raptors. A couple pairs of local Red Tailed hawks were seen over Mt. Morrison, West Ridge, and Cabrini Shrine; they were distinguished from the migrants by courtship behavior.
Non-raptor Observations:
Flocks of 15-20 migrating Mountain Bluebirds were seen during the day, and Western Meadowlarks, Spotted Towhees, Bushtits, Townsend's Solitaires, Black Capped Chickadees, American Robins, and a Pink Sided Dark Eyed Junco were all seen or heard. Also, a Double Crested Cormorant was spotted flying high and to the north, slightly west of the ridge, around 10:00AM
Predictions:
Tomorrow will be a good day as well, with plenty of distant buteos.
Report submitted by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (jeff.birek@rmbo.org)
Dinosaur Ridge information may be found at: http://www.rmbo.org/
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 the Rocky Mountain Bird
Observatory from about 9 AM to around 4 PM from the first week of March to the
first week of 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 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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