Colorado, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: May 06, 2012 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 2 | 19 | 134 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 1 | 27 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 5 | 75 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 12 | 246 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Swainson's Hawk | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 3 | 105 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Mississippi Kite | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 2 | 43 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Total: | 3 | 45 | 777 |
| Observation start time: | 07:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 5.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Joyce Commercon |
| Observers: | Francis Commercon |
Visitors:
A number of hikers and bikers stopped by. Some came for the view or to watch the motocross competition. Many were curious about HawkWatch. One man from a large group of hikers paused to ask what we were watching for and was interested to know where the migrants were possibly heading up North. Another group of three hikers, who started out from Red Rocks, asked for directions to the Dinosaur footprints and also for information how to possibly return to Red Rocks through Matthew Winters Park. They were also interested to hear about HawkWatch and migrating raptors. As we began to leave the site for the day, we encountered a pleasant young man, to whom we had briefly spoken early that morning, who was apparently dehydrated and somewhat disoriented. We gave him our water and helped him get down to his car. It is very important to carry water even for short day hikes here in Colorado!
Weather:
It was a beautiful, partly-cloudy day on the Ridge, with mostly level 2 (B) winds consistently from the East. Visibility was good.
Raptor Observations:
Of the few, end-of-season migrants we had, all passed through early in the morning at height-of-flight 2. For the next four hours, we only observed local activity, mostly from Red-tails and Turkey Vultures on the West side of the Ridge. Four local adult Turkey Vultures passed close by the site showing off their exceptional flying abilities. They then circled up over I-70 and flew South again. North of the HawkWatch site, an immature Bald Eagle flew from West to East. A Golden Eagle was spotted heading South over WestRidge. A local female American Kestrel made an appearance at the end of the day coming South over the West side and then perching on a power pole in the valley.
Non-raptor Observations:
The highlight of the day was a brief stop at the HawkWatch site by two male Western Tanagers, apparently on their way North. Beautiful bright yellow! One was in full breeding plumage, while the other was not quite so red about the head. The White-throated Swifts zoomed through the site, extremely closely, often chittering as they passed. A Spotted Towhee serenaded us from the West-side pine. The local Common Raven flew past at one point carrying what appeared to be a whole, crunched-up hot dog bun. Also, all day there was a fair amount of noise from the Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Rooney Valley, where a major competition (Nationals?) was taking place. Other birds seen or heard included: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Robin, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Western Meadowlark, Bushtit, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Say's Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Black-billed Magpie and Rock Wren.
Predictions:
Last day!
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.
0 comments:
Post a Comment