Date: 3/10/25 6:51 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (10 Mar 2025) 7 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 10, 2025
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 13:00:00
Total observation time: 4 hours
Official Counter: Ajit Antony
Observers:
Visitors:
A young man named Chris knew I was hawk watching, as he has occasionally
visited Dinosaur Ridge! A young man named Victor wanted to look through my
scope at Denver. I showed it to him at 20 x and then zoomed to 60x. He said
he felt he could touch the downtown buildings if he stretched out his hand
- impressed with the optics. He had many questions as to what I was doing,
which I explained in detail.
Weather:
The forecast was for light SW becoming West at 2:00 p.m. At the watch,
there was a large fan-shaped ground glass looking cloud covering 70% of the
sky to the East, North and South with some fingers overhead, which was very
welcome, to reduce eye strain scanning for migrants. The cloud was
broad-based to the East with streamers fanning out, the whole gradually
receding toward the east. At the watch the winds were from the SW for the
first hour and then became surprisingly Level 3 from the ESE, a discrepancy
between what there was, as opposed to what was forecast. Again, Mount Blue
Sky could be clearly seen at 39 km to the SW, but to the East there was a
thin layer of fog in front of Denver going from north to south.
Raptor Observations:
The bird of the day was the Prairie Falcon. At 11:34 a.m. MDT I heard a odd
single noted call from the NE, and when I looked there was a Prairie Falcon
flying East out of the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon, it flew to between the
two Table Mountains where there was another one, smaller, and they flew
together to the North; at the same time there were in the background, one
raptor diving on another which I had to ignore, wishing I had more
observers. At 12:19 p.m. MDT I noted a raptor with bowed wings between the
2 tall antenna on the East of Lookout Mountain, it flew north below my
elevation, and I could clearly see that the tail was paler than the back
indicating an adult Prairie Falcon. In the 11-12 hour MDT, I found a
Prairie Falcon East of Lookout Mountain which kept going to the NE, my hope
it would turn north, burt far away it turned and dropped on one of two RT,
when I bumped the scope with my foot, and couldn't find them again even
with binoculars - not counted as a migrant, though it might have been.
There was a dark morph RT overhead, beautifully backlit close to the sun,
but it flew South.
Non-raptor Observations:
There was a much smaller than 22° halo around the sun, tight around the
sun , which had rainbow colors with the red outside, three such rings, and
later to two more rings where I could only see the red. I looked it up
online and it is called a solar corona which can also happen around the
moon.
There was a brief dust devil 6 ft from me which dumped some dirt on me and
my equipment.
Western Bluebird 5, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 5, American Crow 2.
Predictions:
Light winds from the SE, changing to ESE.
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Report submitted by Ajit Antony (<aiantony...>)
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