Date: 9/24/25 7:29 pm
From: <reports...>
Subject: [cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (24 Sep 2025) 19 Raptors
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 24, 2025
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 11 15
Osprey 0 1 1
Bald Eagle 1 2 2
Northern Harrier 0 3 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 12 17
Cooper's Hawk 1 19 21
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 15 17 17
Red-tailed Hawk 0 13 26
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Swainson's Hawk 0 18 68
Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 3 5
American Kestrel 1 27 33
Merlin 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 1 2
Prairie Falcon 0 1 3
Mississippi Kite 0 0 0
Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 6 8
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 3 4
Short-eared Owl 0 0 0

Total: 19 137 225
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Observation start time: 08:45:00
Observation end time: 12:15:00
Total observation time: 3.5 hours

Official Counter: Ajit Antony

Observers:

Visitors:
A woman hiker came up to the watch and asked whether I had seen any hawks,
I replied that I had seen a few.


Weather:
After an unusual 36 hours of rain, I thought there may be some migrants
today. The winds were light from the south, temperature 18>16 C, humidity
37>52%, cumulus cloud cover 80>20%, clear visibility 24>12 km. Radar showed
that the precipitation within clouds was moving from SSW to NNE.
Earth.nullschool.net showed winds aloft from the south at 5 km/hr. Soaring
Guidance of the National Weather Service was good, with lift at 2.4 m/sec
and predicted height of thermals 6902 feet above ground level. This meant I
had to scan higher than usual, 1-3 binocular fields above the ridge to the
west, from as soon as I got there.

Raptor Observations:
Exploratory fall count 2025.
See: https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk
The first migrant was a CH at 10:15 AM MDT over the ridge to the west. At
10:5 AM, far to the NW I could see 'pepper specks' through binoculars,
which turned out to be a kettle of BW rising in a thermal, then streaming
out broadly - through my scope - compact, flat winged buteos.
Non migrant raptors: GE 6 - 1 at 12:15 PM flying NW, at the same time saw
an adult with 2 juveniles with white only at the base of their tails with
no white in their wings and no molt, and 2 more adults - 1 before and 1
after. TV3. RT3.

Non-raptor Observations:
White-throated Swift 17, Blue Jay 1, American Robin 4, Northern Flicker 10,
Common Raven 7.
2 paragliders with good lift, quite high.

Predictions:
Light winds from the NW aloft according to Earth.nullschool.net. The
surface forecast predicts west wind changing to east wind. The Soaring
Guidance from the NWS was good with the maximum rate of lift 2.5 m/sec, and
maximum height of thermals 6869 feet above ground level.
========================================================================
Report submitted by Official Counter of the day shown above (<dinoridgehw...>)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at:
www.dinosaurridgehawkwatch.org


More site information at hawkcount.org: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=123

Site Description:
Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawk watch in Colorado and is
the best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Hawk
watchers may see 17 species of migrating raptors; and it is an excellent
site to see rare dark morph buteos including Broad-winged hawk,
Swainson’s hawk, Ferruginous hawk, Rough-legged hawk and Red-tailed Hawk.
Other raptors we see include Golden and Bald Eagles, Northern harrier,
Osprey, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned
Hawks, American Kestrels, Merlin, and Turkey Vultures. American Goshawk is
uncommon but also counted each season. Non-raptor species include Rock
Wren, Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane, White-throated Swift,
American White Pelican, and Dusky Grouse. Birders of any skill level are
always welcome. The hawk watch at Dinosaur Ridge is staffed by Hawk
Counter(s) and volunteers from March through early 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 hawk watch signs
from the southwest end of the parking lot to the hawk watch 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, and walk to the flat area at the crest of the ridge.
(Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain: 259 feet)


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