Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: May 02, 2012 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 1 | 2 | 117 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 1 | 71 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 4 | 238 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 1 | 103 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 1 | 42 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Total: | 5 | 9 | 741 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7 hours |
| Official Counter | Bill Wuerthele |
| Observers: | Cynthia Madsen, Janet Shin |
Visitors:
There were just a few visitors today, and very few hikers were on the Ridge. It's possible that the number of recent rattlesnake sightings and word of a dog being bitten by a rattlesnake held down the number of hikers (many of whom hike with dogs). The hikers who stopped all knew about the rattlesnake/dog incident.
Weather:
A warm, fairly cloudy day, with high thin clouds in the morning giving way to cumulus clouds in the afternoon (temperatures ranged from 14.4 to 23.9 degrees C, with cloud cover between 40% and 90%). Light easterly winds in the morning picked up and shifted to the northeast in the afternoon, with wind speeds between 1B and 4B (13 mph). Temperature and humidity data are from the Weather Underground station at Rooney Road. No BP data are available from that station.
Raptor Observations:
Migrating Raptors: A slow day on the Ridge, with four migratory species and only five individuals counted. Non-migrating raptors included: Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks, a Prairie Falcon, an American Kestrel, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptors included: White-throated Swifts, Spotted Towhees, Western Meadowlarks, Common Ravens, American Crows, Western Scrub-Jays, American Robins, Black-billed Magpies, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Blue Jays, and Common Grackles.
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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