[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (08 Apr 2016) 27 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 08, 2016
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	3	34	256
Osprey	8	17	19
Bald Eagle	1	1	47
Northern Harrier	2	4	21
Sharp-shinned Hawk	4	14	53
Cooper's Hawk	1	4	48
Northern Goshawk	0	0	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	3	52
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	1
Red-tailed Hawk	4	13	196
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	4	22	57
Merlin	0	3	7
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	0	6
Total:	27	116	774

Observation start time:	08:30:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	7.5 hours
Official Counter	Anna Stunkel
Observers:	Bob Huber, Dave Gulick, Tom Downing

Visitors:
15 people visited the hawkwatch.

Weather:
The hawkwatch was delayed slightly today due to fog surrounding the summit, but it cleared up fairly quickly after counting began. Winds were mostly from the west, and moderate in speed with occasional strong gusts especially in the afternoon. Skies were mostly cloudy. Very choppy seas could be seen out by Eagle Island and Halfway Rock.

Raptor Observations:
There was a nice push of eight distant raptors within a span of about ten minutes early on in the count. Perhaps this excitement occurred because winds were calm at that time. After this, things were a bit slow as winds picked up but it was a good day for Osprey, especially in the afternoon. Local Turkey Vultures and Bald Eagles were very active, along with a local Cooper's Hawk near Hedgehog Mountain.

Non-raptor Observations:
The hawk counter was greeted by a beautiful male Pine Warbler singing in a nearby tree at the summit this morning. Non-raptor migration was rather quiet. 27 bird species were observed today, including two Bohemian Waxwings which may have been looking for their flock mates.

Species deemed migrating:

5 passerine sp.

2 Canada Geese

1 Great Blue Heron

1 Pine Siskin

1 Tree Swallow 

Predictions:
Tomorrow should be a very good day for raptor migration. Strong winds and unsettled weather have probably been holding up raptors, and it is expected to be a nice calm day tomorrow. Winds are predicted to be northwesterly and light, unlike the often strong winds of the past few days. We hope that you will stop by for a visit!

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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