Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Emma Riley, Soren Zappia
Observers: Laura Farnsworth
Visitors: Thank you to Ajit and Liza Antony for bringing a DFO field trip up today to the ridge. We had a busy morning full of visitors and the field trip, and had a total of 9 visitors plus the 11 people in the field trip.
Thank you to everyone, including our volunteer Sara Painter, for their help on the ridge today! It was a fun and busy day.
Weather: Today was a beautiful day up on the ridge with cloud cover present most of the day and temperatures around 22 C. Winds varied in direction throughout the day, sometimes switching directions a few times within an hour. Precipitation and heavy cloud cover was seen S and W of us in the late afternoon. Some rain was present for about 10 minutes at the end of the 1500 hour, and nearby lightning cut the count 30 minutes short
Raptor Observations: We had a slower day today than yesterday but got some great birds! Migration in the morning was slow, but our visiting DFO group got to see a late season Ferruginous Hawk migrate along the W ridge. We also had some accipitrines move in the morning. A few more migrants came through in the afternoon, mostly moving along the ridge and west of us. The highlight of the day was a beautiful adult light-morph Swainson's Hawk that glided directly overhead in the early afternoon. Birds were generally high today, so getting a low SW was a treat!
Non-raptor Observations: White-throated Swift 4, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 1, Feral Pigeon 1, American White Pelican 15, Northern Flicker 1, Say's Phoebe 1, Blue Jay 1, Black-billed Magpie 1, American Crow 2, Common Raven 2, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Violet-green Swallow 1, swalow sp. 40, American Bushtit 2, Rock Wren 1, American Robin 2, Pine Siskin 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Western Meadowlark 1
Predictions: Tomorrow will bring less cloud cover and winds from the W. Any day we will begin to see Broad-winged Hawks! ======================================================================== 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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