Friday, 15 March 2013

[Maine-birds] Fwd: HSR: Bradbury Mountain State Park (15 Mar 2013) 31 Raptors



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Begin forwarded message:

From: reports@hawkcount.org
Date: March 15, 2013, 7:03:16 PM EDT
To: freeportwildbird@yahoo.com
Subject: HSR: Bradbury Mountain State Park (15 Mar 2013) 31 Raptors
Reply-To: freeportwildbird@yahoo.com


Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 15, 2013
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0
Turkey Vulture               4              4              4
Osprey                       0              0              0
Bald Eagle                   4              4              4
Northern Harrier             0              0              0
Sharp-shinned Hawk           0              0              0
Cooper's Hawk                3              3              3
Northern Goshawk             3              3              3
Red-shouldered Hawk          6              6              6
Broad-winged Hawk            0              0              0
Red-tailed Hawk              8              8              8
Rough-legged Hawk            1              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel             0              0              0
Merlin                       0              0              0
Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               2              2              2

Total:                      31             31             31
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end   time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours

Official Counter:        Katrina Fenton

Observers:        Dan Nickerson, Derek Lovitch, Don Thompson

Visitors:
12. A big thanks to everyone who braved the chilly weather and wintery
trails to welcome in a new year for the count! No season could be the same
without the eyes and enthusiasm of our visitors and volunteers.


Weather:
The season kicked off today with a sunny morning and northwest winds light
enough to be forgiven their coming from a less than ideal direction. A
smear of milky white frothed here and there into fluffier clouds, and took
over most of the sky for the afternoon. There was still plenty of sunshine
to warm the summit above freezing and generate thermals for willing
migrants.

Raptor Observations:
The first official migrant of the day rose as a distant black shaddow over
the horizon, a Turkey Vulture leading the charge of early migrants to the
north. Bird #10 was an adult Northern Goshawk, powering head on and
clearing the summit with a backwards glance, sunlight glinting off its
snowy supercilium like on the goggles of a nordic skier. Around 1:30 p.m.,
a long-winged crooked-dihedraled buteo passed the mountain on its way to
the arctic- the first Rough-legged Hawk to make the count since 2008.

Non-raptor Observations:
An American Crow had its 5 seconds of fame as the first bird to be observed
at the hawkwatch. The honor of being the first non-raptor migrant went to a
Common Merganzer, flapping away high under the sun. A Killdeer left its
calling card on the wind, a whisper in the ears quickly faded.

Non-raptor migrants:
Common Merganzer -1           waterfowl sp.- 1
Killdeer- 1                   American Robin -3
finch sp.- 1

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks like it will be quite similar to today with a light 5-10mph
northwest wind becoming more westerly towards the afternoon. Overcast
morning skies will gradually clear to partly cloudy. Temperatures will
again rise to the low-to-mid thirties, slowly wearing down the snow piles
lingering in the shaddows. Migration seems to be just picking up with early
birds like adult Northern Goshawks and Rough-legged Hawks still coming
through. Tomorrow holds its own surprises, and judging by the weather,
numbers should be similar to today.
========================================================================
Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (freeportwildbird@yahoo.com)
Bradbury Mountain State Park information may be found at:
www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/hawkwatch.asp


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