Date: 3/3/25 1:51 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (03 Mar 2025) 1 Raptors
Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park
Golden, Greater Denver, Colorado, USA
This is a new raptor migration site identified and designated in mid-September 2024. This is Colorado's 1st fall hawk watch site and the state's second spring watch site.
Many raptors seen c. 1.5 miles to the West from Dinosaur Ridge, may be directly overhead at this site, we are hoping.
To get to the site which is along Lookout Mountain Rd. in Golden, enter either Windy Saddle Park or Mount Zion into Google Maps on your favorite navigation app, or enter the coordinates 39.7368,-105.2454. From the parking lot ascend the stone steps to the watch site.
Anyone is welcome to join us if they want to see the spectacle of spring raptor migration, whether they know nothing or know a lot regarding identifying raptor species.
Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 03, 2025
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 09:30:00
Observation end time: 12:00:00
Total observation time: 2.5 hours
Official Counter: Ajit Antony
Observers:
Weather:
The forecast was for light S to SE to East winds becoming 18+ mph in the
afternoon.
There were Level 2 winds with frequent gusts to Level 3 from the ESE, then
ENE; initial limited visibility to 8 km increasing to 20 km with haziness.
Raptor Observations:
There was only one RT migrating at 11:29 a.m. and was seen at a great
distance but in line with the top of one of the antenna on Lookout
Mountain. It circled repeatedly, rising and eventually glided northward. It
looked like a dark morph, but when it turned , I could see that while its
coverts were dark but not black, its body was rufous - an intermediate
rufous morph.
Non-migrant Raptors: As I was about to leave, I heard a raven croak to the
NE, and looking there saw an adult Golden Eagle doing a steep roller
coaster flight, which I showed a young couple, who were thrilled. This GE
was probably doing a territorial flight toward the raven. It's courtship
flight is similar, but there was no other GE around.
Many RT sightings, some extremely high at the level of binocular
resolution, over Lookout Mountain, perhaps 6.
Non-raptor Observations:
2 paragliders. Mountain Mluebird 5, Mountain Chickadee 1, Common Raven 2,
American Crow 3.
Predictions:
Snow
========================================================================
Report submitted by Ajit Antony (<aiantony...>)
This is an automated email report from hawkcount.org. If you do not wish to receive these reports,
please send email to <unsubscribe...> to unsubscribe.
--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to <cobirds...>
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate.
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/membership/ ---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+<unsubscribe...>
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/<010101955dfe238e-ce4139ad-5770-4bd5-8f15-c7562f69eaa5-000000...>
