Date: 11/1/26 7:06 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (01 Nov 2026) 21 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
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 01, 2026
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Observation start time: 10:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 5 hours
Official Counter: Ajit Antony
Observers:
Visitors:
A Chinese family on top of Mount Zion not speaking English, and a man
started looking through my scope. His son speaking perfect American English
apologized for him, then asked what I was looking at. I explained. He
explained to the family in a Chinese language. I found a distant
binocular-only RT between the two Table Mountains and I mentioned it to
them that they probably couldn't see it as it was probably 4 miles away but
his younger brother a young teen could see it. I explained that children
have better eyesight than adults. I found it in my scope and was able to
show it to the father and son, the former was so pleased he wanted a
picture taken with me!
Another man I tried to show a different RT through my scope and he couldn't
see it president probably gone out of the field, and I said Move away, so I
can find it again, but he wouldn't instead trying to move the scope around
trying to find it himself, by which time the RT could not be found again.
Weather:
Last night the Soaring Forecast of the NWS for today had predicted zero
lift, so I thought the heavy cloud and fog as the day would persist until
the cold front came through with very few migrants, so I was reluctant to
do a count today but my dutiful nature took over especially when I looked
out of the window and saw that there was no fog in Denver. The NWS
predicted fog until after 10:00 a.m. but holfuy.com showed that the base
cloud level was 9961 ft which would be 1200 ft above the watch. At the
watch there was just the usual haziness over Denver, but by 11:15 a.m.
Denver was slightly clearer and the brown cloud developed between North and
NE, by 1:00 p.m. MST Denver could not be seen at all. The winds aloft were
expected from the south. This is the third day in a row with zero left and
low thermals for which there was no trigger temperature time given.
Raptor Observations:
Today we passed 1900 migrant raptors for the fall season! The only
comparison I have is with the spring season at Dinosaur Ridge when
volunteers like me were counting between 2017 and 2021 when their total
numbers for the entire seasons were 692, 588, 828, 556, and 1101
respectively with excellent hawk watchers counting like Carol Cwiklinski
and Steve Small. Even comparing with the last 5 years Dinosaur Ridge in
Spring had paid professional counters which is not a valid comparison as
they were at least four decades younger with far better eyesight and
counted 8 hours every day, their numbers between 2022 and 2026 were not too
much higher at 2406, 2321, 2150, 3144, and 2263 respectively. In fact we
realized that in August we were very conservative deeming hawks as migrants
until Lookout Mountain Road was closed in both directions one dat and we
were forced to count from the Buffalo Bill Museum atop Lookout Mountain
when we realized that most of the hawks we counted as non-migrants from
Mount Zion were actually migrants past Lookout Mountain! Looking at my
reports from then we have 10-17 non-migrant TVs and RTs which is certainly
much too many, and by the end of the season I will have calculated how many
of those 'non-migrants' were likely to have been migrants by subtracting
the average number of RT and TV we see. The 1900th Hawk was a CH found High
over North Table Mountain, it then glided strongly with only a few
occasional flaps, went over antenna #1 (the easternmost antenna on Lookout
Mountain), went SW circling and rising in height eventually going SSW.
Even though the lift was expected to be poor, I scanned high to the East
and was able to find a few hawks migrating. 2/3 of the hawks were first
seen over Lookout Mountain and a 1/3 found over one of the Table Mountains,
Green Mountain, or the Kestrel Channel as did the first hawk which was an
AK flew through at 10:07 a.m. MST.
In the last hour the pollutants causing the haze blew past the watch which
could explain why the hawks stopped flying, as it irritates their lungs so
they wait it out, fly around or above, it also reduces the height of any
thermals by dissipating sunlight, together with the increasing overcast sky
also reducing the height of thermals.
Non-raptor Observations:
Of 3 paragliders taking off at 11:25 a.m. only 1 reached a little higher
than the level of the watch, consistent with the poor Soaring Forecast.
STJA 2, TOSO 2, BBMA 2, RBNU 1, RBGU very high 16, CORA 4, AMCR 1.
Predictions:
The rain has already begun in advance of the powerful core front coming
through tomorrow afternoon with a chance of rain at the watch of 57% from
8:00 a.m., so I will have a well-deserved day of rest.
Tuesday and/or Wednesday should be very good after the front goes through
for migrants.
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Report submitted by Ajit Antony (<aiantony...>)
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