Date: 9/19/26 8:23 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (19 Sep 2026) 69 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: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7.17 hours
Official Counter: Ajit Antony
Observers:
Visitors:
While I was looking at 2 BW someone asked What were those? I found a woman
with binoculars. She was Lily Pad who had never seen a BW and saw our eBird
report of 10 BW yesterday and decided to come up. She got her lifer BW and
more with the kettle.
At 3:20 p.m. an adult GE to the SE was chased all the way to the NE by an
RT which flew over it, harassing it. The GE closed his wings and dove, a
beautiful sight, then glided all the way toward the South where the RT
chased it again into Lookout Mountain.
An AK attacked a CH on migration, seen through my scope while watching an
RT.
Non-migrant raptors: dark morph adult RT without any molt, 3 other RT. TV 7
at 3:25 p.m. flying NE together, probably going to a roost. AK 1.
Many hikers listened in on my instructing Lily regarding hawk ID. A woman
came up to me and said You were here two weeks ago weren't you, what are
you looking at. I explained about hawk migration, hawk counts, HMA. She
wanted to know whether I got paid. In pleasure, I replied, and added Most
rewarding things you do in life you don't get paid for- the philosopher in
me.
Weather:
Slight haze over the bases of the buildings in downtown Denver caused by an
inversion layer which could be seen as a 3� whitish cloud over the eastern
horizon. Pleasantly cool all day especially after the rain. Light winds
from the ESE changing to NE. Cloud cover progressively increasing, clear
visibility only 6 km increasing to 20 km, after the rain it increased to 39
km. At 11:25 a.m. MDT there were very dark clouds to the SW of the watch.
Lightning strikes had been recorded 13 miles to the SW, and I thought the
storms might blow south of us, but then there was a flash of stick
lightning to the SW which made me almost run down to the car with my
equipment, where I found that lightning had struck one mile NE of the watch
in Golden. After half an hour I was ready to leave as the rain and thunder
continued, but as I backed my car out I noticed the sky brightening and
within a short time the rain had almost stopped and the sun came out. My
Lightning app showed the nearest lightning strikes to the West were 100 mi
away at Glenwood Springs, and there was blue sky between clouds to the West
so I thought I might get a few more hours of observation, and went back up
to the watch getting there at 12:30 p.m.
Once the rain cleared the air was very clear and everything looked razor
sharp.
Just before I left at 5:00 p.m. there were dark clouds to the SW and
distant thunder rumbles, but the nearest lightning strikes were 35 miles
away to the SW.
Raptor Observations:
23 Broadwing hawks including a single kettle of 16 found quite by luck in a
blue sky when I was looking at an RT at 10:54 a.m. MDT to the SE. I could
see adults tail bands on some of them with my scope. Dark morph BW 1. GE
juvenile at 2:33 p.m. flew SE.
I stayed till 5:00 p.m. today to see if there are late flights in the
afternoon at this site. At most sites thermal production slows down by 3:00
p.m. and the hawks migrate at a lower height, but in Denver because of the
elevation a mile high and the thin atmosphere, thermals keep forming until
much later. At 4:00 p.m. I could see 2 local RT high over Lookout Mountain.
At Dinosaur Ridge in Spring I have seen migrant hawks quite high in the sky
(Level 4) even at 5:00 p.m.
Predictions:
A cold front went through this evening, so tomorrow could be a good day for
migrants.
The winds aloft according to earth.nullschool.net are from the north which
should be favorable for migrants.
A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms
after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 70. Calm wind becoming northeast
around 6 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
========================================================================
Report submitted by Ajit Antony (<aiantony...>)
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