Spring Raptoring and sweet new GHO nest

The Spring Raptors are coming back and the first sightings are being reported.  While Red-tailed Hawks, Bald Eagles and Great-horned Owls are sitting on eggs in nests, other, more migratory birds, are headed either back to or through Colorado.  Here are some of the raptor “events” around the county and state:

Last week, while being detoured behind the Jiffy Lube/Black Diamond car wash in Lafyette, my dad Doug “discovered” (new to us anyway) an incredibly visible nest with fluffy owlets.  At first, as you pull behind the car service areas off S. Boulder Rd., you will see a big nest at the top of a tall tree-that is NOT it; look down below it, on the southeastern side of the tree, close to the loud construction site, and you will be surprised when you see the small nest on a small branch “table” that is chock full of owl-a mama and three white puffballs that are approaching their mom’s size and starting to overflow the nest.  They should be fledging soon and very easy to observe.

It appears that three owlets at the Twin Lakes GHO nest have hatched and are peeking out of their nest.  I don’t think “my” owls are nearly as far along. 

I have not figured out where “my” displaced Red-tail pair is nesting, but I have still seen them, (or at least a pair of RTs) flying together quite a bit in the area recently.

The Hygiene Bald Eagles appear to be incubating eggs.  There is a nest in Longmont near the detour of County Line Rd, another off of Dillon Road (visible from 95^th) and another visible from C-470 near exit 34.

I have scanned the fields east of 75^th and Lookout for Burrowing Owls but have not seen any yet, even though sightings are being reported around the state.

My first Osprey (probably) was flying over my house on a windy afternoon March 23 and Boulder County Fairgrounds reported the first Osprey at the nest platform on March 30.

The first lone Turkey Vulture was sighted at Dinosaur Ridge on March 27 and now many other single sightings are being documented around the state, including a group of 20 or so in Adams County.  They are certainly on their way as the Bentsen State Park Hawkwatch site in Texas (it’s got a great platform) has been reporting hundreds of TVs each day heading north.  ]I am pretty sure I saw my first TV of the year floating in the late afternoon wind on April 3, but I have yet to see a Swainson’s Hawk.

Accipiters are active and migrating or setting up nests and many Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks are being seen almost daily at Dinosaur Ridge Hawkwatch, and the first Northern Goshawk of the year was observed there yesterday, April 4.

I am heading out today (Saturday, April 5) with my student group to make up our snowed out raptoring field trip.  We are hoping to hit a couple Bald Eagle nests, a couple of GHOs, a few Red-tails, a couple of Osprey platforms, maybe see an incoming TV or Swainson's and whatever else we see.