Observation start time: 06:30:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 10.5 hours
Official Counter: Emma Riley, Soren Zappia , Soren Zappia
Observers: Laura Farnsworth
Visitors: 25 visitors. Lots of folks were out enjoying the nice weather today.
Thank you to Sara Painter, Paula Wegert, and Kathie Moses for volunteering today!
Weather: It started quite windy with winds from the WNW at 5 bft. The winds shifted to the N at 3-4 bft before shifting again to NE and then E. The winds died down in the afternoon, but remained from the east.
Cloud cover generally increased throughout the day, and by late afternoon we had extensive cloud cover overhead.
Raptor Observations: In the early morning, we saw a few birds low past the ridge including a low overhead American Kestrel and two juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawks that were actively fighting while both flying north. Afterwards, a Juvenile Cooper's Hawk shot past at eye level off the east side of the ridge.
After the initial burst of activity, the next three hours were quiet as the wind switched to the north. In the afternoon, the wind calmed a bit and switched east, and we saw a few migrants push through. Red-tailed Hawks were our most common migrant in the afternoon, but we also had some more American Kestrels, two more Cooper's Hawks, and a Swainson's Hawk. Most birds were low overhead or to the west. Almost all the birds we could age today were juveniles. Local birds were also quite active today!
We also had a busy morning for songbird flight with nearly 100 Yellow-rumped Warblers, a half-dozen Western Tanagers, and a few flocks of Chipping Sparrows.
Non-raptor Observations: White-throated Swift 35, hummingbird sp 2, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 4, Mourning Dove 2, Double-crested Cormorant 1, Great Blue Heron 1, American White Pelican 5, Say's Phoebe 1, Western Kingbird 4, Blue Jay 5, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay 2, Black-billed Magpie 1, Common Raven 4, Tree Swallow 3, Violet-green Swallow 30, Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1, Barn Swallow 1, Cliff Swallow 3, Rock Wren 1, House Wren 1, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 3, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, House Finch 3, Pine Siskin 4, Lark Sparrow 1, Chipping Sparrow 30, Vesper Sparrow 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Western Meadowlark 2, Brown-headed Cowbird 14, Yellow-rumped Warbler 36, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 57, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 3, Western Tanager 6
Predictions: Tomorrow's forecast calls for sunny skies with occasional clouds and a light wind from the east. Temperatures should be in the mid 50s to mid 60s F.
Tomorrow is our final day of the 2026 season! We hope you can join us for our final day of counting.
======================================================================== 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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