Roughies galore!

I went on an impromptu drive yesterday, intending to head east looking for Roughies, Ferruginous and Baldies, but instead ended following birds more north and west.  I headed north through Lafayette and behind Arapahoe Ridge saw my first official Red Tail of the year (surprisingly didn't see one on Wednesday) and set the scope up for the first time.  I headed east and immediately saw a very dark bird so I pulled over and grabbed the scope again, only to realize there was another Red Tail sitting right above me.  As I focused the scope the very dark bird flew and revealed itself as I suspected as a Harlan's.  I jumped in the car and tried to follow it back west but ended up finding a few more Red Tails and Kestrels before heading west on always reliable Lookout.  I had not gone far when I spotted a blob on one of the lower utility posts and immediately thought, "Rough-legged," as they tend to prefer the shorter roadside ones for some reason.  I was able to pull over directly across from it and get a great look. Why didn't I bring the camera?!  I kept on westward and as I crested the hill there was a huge blob in a small tree on the south side of the road-obviously an eagle, but no white head and I assumed juvenile Bald.  Trying to identify juvenile eagles is tough but I am fairly certain I was right as I got a good look at it flying and perched. I turned around and headed back east all the way down Lookout until it comes to a T and jogs right, where there were at least four birds around the field, including a beautiful Roughie who circled overhead for me to get a perfect view.  I zig-zagged through and around Erie, losing count of Red Tails, finding two more Roughies and two different adult Bald Eagles soaring.  Cruising back home down I-25 there were tons of perched Red Tails and probable Red Tails. Final count for the 90 minute drive was about two dozen RTs, 4 Roughies, 3 Baldies and 6 Kestrels (5 male-I read somewhere else that mostly males were being spotted and very few females but not sure of reason).  All in all a pretty successful first outing of the new year!  Happy Raptoring!