Observation start time: 07:15:00 Observation end time: 18:00:00 Total observation time: 10 hours
Official Counter: Emma Riley, Soren Zappia , Soren Zappia
Observers: Laura Farnsworth
Visitors: 44 visitors, not including field trip participants. It was our busiest day yet for visitors with a DFO field trip led by Ajit and Liza Antony in the morning, and a few birders and hikers throughout the day. We also met two groups of 10 visitors from England, who work as guards at Buckingham Palace - they seemed to be enjoying Colorado!
Thank you to Steve Price for volunteering at the hawkwatch today, and to Janet Peters, David Suddjian, and Mike Ames for submitting their counts to our Raptorthon. There is still time to submit lists from within an 8 mile radius of the hawkwatch - share with the user "dinoridgehawkwatch" on eBird. Results to come soon!
Weather: We returned to sunny skies today with temperatures starting near freezing but reaching the low 60s F by the end of the day, with yesterday's snow nearly completely melted by the late afternoon. Winds were light and variable, starting as WNW in the early morning but shifting more east in the remainder of the day. In the final two hours of the count, cloud cover increased gradually until there was a thin, wispy blanket over most of the sky.
Raptor Observations: Today was our Raptorthon fundraiser, and we were lucky to see 13 raptor species at the ridge today, including local birds! We had a good push of birds, with our highest daily total so far this season for Ospreys, Bald Eagles, and Swainson's Hawks. Most birds were on the west ridge or overhead, but we saw 2 Osprey past by below eye level on the east. The morning was busy, but the midday was quieter before activity resumed in the afternoon. Highlights of the day include 2 Broad-winged Hawks, a surprising late Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk, and a dark morph Ferruginous Hawk.
Bald Eagle activity was also quite high today, with three migrants and many local birds. An adult Bald Eagle flew south low overhead, giving amazing views to our morning field trip.
We also had good numbers of American Kestrels throughout the day. While a few birds were low close to the ridge, many remained high overhead or far to the west even in the late hours of the count.
We also saw our first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the season today, Western and Mountain Bluebirds, and many swifts and swallows.
Non-raptor Observations: White-throated Swift 48, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 3, Mourning Dove 1, Ring-billed Gull 1, Double-crested Cormorant 1, American White Pelican 4, Northern Flicker 1, Say's Phoebe 1, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay 2, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 4, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Tree Swallow 3, Violet-green Swallow 4, Barn Swallow 1, swalow sp. 2, Mountain Bluebird 6, Western Bluebird 6, Townsend's Solitaire 1, American Robin 3, House Finch 1, Pine Siskin 4, Spotted Towhee 2, Western Meadowlark 2, Red-winged Blackbird 2, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 1
Predictions: Tomorrow, warmer temperatures are predicted from the mid 50s to low 70s F. Expect sunny skies and winds from the NE.
Trails were dry on our descent today. Watch for rattlesnakes as warm temperatures return. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Official Counter of the day shown above (<dinoridgehw...>) Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: www.dinosaurridgehawkwatch.org
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, and American White Pelican. 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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