Date: 9/13/26 3:31 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (13 Sep 2026) 23 Raptors
Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park
Golden, Greater Denver, Colorado, USA
To see hourly weather data and details of migrant raptors, look up this watch at hawkcount.org.
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 second hawk watch in Colorado.
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.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO THE HAWK WATCH TO ENJOY THE SPECTACLE OF RAPTOR MIGRATION, EVEN IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IDENTIFYING RAPTORS IN FLIGHT. We will help you to learn Raptor ID if you are interested.
See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk
Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 13:00:00
Total observation time: 4.5 hours
Official Counter: Zak Hepler
Observers:
Visitors:
First visitors of the day were Frank and Judy from Ohio. They have a
daughter who likes eagles and she is a naturalist. A few different people
liked taking phone calls at the Watch. They must have better reception than
I do. The heat kept most people from lingering too long. I took requested
photos of three different groups of people throughout the day. One couple
brought their own stand for their camera like a photoshoot.
Weather:
Beautiful blue sky. No clouds covered the hawk watch during the entirety of
the shift. Reaching high 80s with strong SE gusts. Not stormy whatsover and
visibility reached 39 km throughout the entire watch.
Raptor Observations:
First migrant was an AK at 9:18 AM. Only one SW was reported at 11:00 AM.
Most raptors leveraged the lift from Kestrel Channel and North Channel.
These gullies allowed the birds to get lift without being blown around as
much as they would have being exposed on the outside of the range. The
highest count at the watch today happened between 11AM-12PM. Overall, it
was not very migrant-heavy, but fairly steady. I had considered that the
birds were too high in the air to be visible, but when scanning, I did not
get any new birds.
Non migrant raptors: 6 TUVU, 2 COHA, 9 RTHA
Non-raptor Observations:
I noticed that the WTSW became active at 9:06 AM and the fireants became
active around 9:45 AM. The prairie fence lizard sighting was at 10:06 AM
and it hung around for quite awhile. Only two paragliders were seen today.
The first took off at 10:52 AM and the second was at 12:28 PM.
Predictions:
Another warm day with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms (20%). This is
typical of the front range at this time of year. We can also expect the
western wind in the morning until the air over Denver warms up to create
the eastern breeze that we experience.
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Report submitted by Zak Hepler (<zakhepler...>)
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