Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Emma Riley
Observers:
Visitors: We had 11 visitors to the ridge today including Michelle with Jefferson County Open Spaces.
We have reached our final week of the season which leads us to saying goodbye to our regular volunteers. We want to extend the largest thank you to Clay Gibson, Mike Serruto, and Marirosa Donisi for regularly volunteering on Mondays throughout the year. All three of these wonderful volunteers have worked with us in previous years, and we love getting to spend time with them.
Weather: Today was a very pleasant day on the ridge with cloud cover present for most of the day. The sun came out for about an hour in the afternoon before some precipitation moved in at the end of the day.
Raptor Observations: Migration has slowed down with less than 10 birds counted today. The birds that did move through came close along the ridge giving us great looks. We have been seeing juvenile birds predominantly migrating which is typical for this time of year. The two American Kestrels came buzzing through the trees directly at eye level at the end of the day.
We had a handful of local Red-tailed Hawks, Turkey Vultures, Cooper's Hawks, and two Bald Eagles present today. The local Golden Eagle also flew by in the early afternoon. An adult Cooper's Hawk perched in a snag just S of the platform giving us great looks at it before it flew below the ridge on the west side going after some passerines.
Swallows and White-throated Swifts were out in massive quantities today with over 100 swallows up at once in the afternoon. We also saw our FOY Green-tailed Towhee today.
Non-raptor Observations: White-throated Swift 20, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 2, Feral Pigeon 1, Mourning Dove 1, Say's Phoebe 1, Blue Jay 1, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay 2, American Crow 2, Common Raven 3, Tree Swallow 32, Violet-green Swallow 35, Cliff Swallow 1, swalow sp. 125, American Bushtit 4, Rock Wren 1, House Finch 2, Green-tailed Towhee 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Western Meadowlark 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 6
Predictions: Precipitation in the form of rain and up to 8"+ of snow is predicted for the next 48 hours. We will keep an eye on the radar but except shortened and potentially cancelled counts. ======================================================================== 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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