[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (11 Apr 2016) 17 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 11, 2016
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	37	259
Osprey	5	26	28
Bald Eagle	0	5	51
Northern Harrier	2	7	24
Sharp-shinned Hawk	5	31	70
Cooper's Hawk	0	8	52
Northern Goshawk	0	0	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	7	56
Broad-winged Hawk	2	2	3
Red-tailed Hawk	0	16	199
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	2	32	67
Merlin	1	5	9
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	3
Unknown Buteo	0	1	6
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	1	7
Total:	17	178	836

Observation start time:	10:15:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	5.75 hours
Official Counter	Anna Stunkel
Observers:

Visitors:
Six people visited the hawkwatch.

Weather:
The morning started off rainy. These showers ended at around 10:15 am EST, allowing the count to begin. Winds started out southerly and became south southwesterly, at moderate to strong speeds. Skies were overcast, with some haze along the horizon but good visibility overall. Some sprinkling occurred during early afternoon, on and off for about an hour. Winds calmed gradually as the day went on, until the last hour of the count, when windspeed diminished more noticeably.

Raptor Observations:
It was slow during most of the count, but two Broad-winged Hawks were seen. Other than the the anomalous sighting on 3/20/16 (a bird which likely wintered in the southeastern US), these were the first broad-wings of the season. One of these beautiful adult birds was nice and close, flying low over Bradbury Mountain. Local Turkey Vultures were milling about. Migration was most active during the final hour of the count, when winds were calmest.

Non-raptor Observations:
21 bird species were observed. A group of five Great Blue Herons swooped low over horizon to the northeast. Two Double-crested Cormorants flew quite close over the summit. The first Belted Kingfisher of the season was seen during late afternoon.

Species deemed migrating:

14 American Robins

5 Great Blue Herons

5 Tree Swallows

2 Canada Geese

2 Double-crested Cormorants

1 Belted Kingfisher

1 Red-winged Blackbird

Predictions:
It is likely to be raining for most or all of the day tomorrow. A few hours of counting may be possible during late afternoon if the rain passes, but migration is likely to be slow just after the rain, with overcast skies. There could be a little push of movement during the afternoon, since winds should be southwesterly and relatively calm during this time.

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Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (freeportwildbird@yahoo.com)
Bradbury Mountain State Park information may be found at: www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/hawkwatch.asp