[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (10 Apr 2017) 439 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 10, 2017
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	43	224	484
Osprey	60	97	97
Bald Eagle	2	22	57
Northern Harrier	49	85	89
Sharp-shinned Hawk	105	174	186
Cooper's Hawk	9	26	34
Northern Goshawk	0	3	5
Red-shouldered Hawk	11	51	99
Broad-winged Hawk	33	34	34
Red-tailed Hawk	11	68	130
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	110	174	175
Merlin	1	13	14
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Unknown Accipiter	1	3	3
Unknown Buteo	1	1	2
Unknown Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Eagle	0	1	1
Unknown Raptor	3	8	12
Total:	439	985	1424

Observation start time:	07:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8.25 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Bob Dawson, Derek Lovitch, Jeannette Lovitch, John Lorenc, Katrina Fenton, Robby Lambert

Visitors:
24 people came to the hawkwatch today to view some birds and enjoy the sun and warm temperatures. I had a lot of help today, which was greatly appreciated. I'm glad people were able to make it up on a Monday in order to witness the passing birds. It was a great honor to have my mentor, Katrina Fenton,join us today to share her knowledge, spot birds, and correct some of my bad calls. Today was awesome! Thanks to everyone who came out.

Weather:
It finally felt like spring atop Bradbury. Temperatures were high, in the lower 60's. There was a very light wind from the south at the start of the day. By the end of the day, wind speed had increased substantially and shifted to a more east-southeast direction. Cloud cover remained high and scattered. Visibility was okay, with some heat distortion and a light haze which blanketed the area.

Raptor Observations:
Today was one of those days that makes you tend to forget the cold inclement weather, with only a few birds passing by, early on in the season. This was another day with a terrifically diverse group of raptors. Birds were often close overhead or straight out in front of the mountain. There did appear to be a flight line developing throughout the morning and into the afternoon hours. Birds, more often than not it seemed, would approach the mountain through The Gap, a geographical landmark we refer to, which is to our west-southwest. For the duration of the count, Sharp-shinned Hawks were in a back and forth race with American Kestrels, to see which species would pass by the most. In the end,Kestrels beat the Sharp-shinned Hawks by 5 birds. Both teams congratulated each other on a job well done and continued on with their business.

Non-raptor Observations:
The previous night's radar looked pretty good for Passerine migration, and it showed. There were a few more first of the year birds which arrived today. Blackbirds were on the move again during the morning hours, along with a few more Canada Geese. Northbound birds included: 354 Blackbird spp. 199 Common Grackles 48 Canada Geese 47 Trees Swallows 45 Red-winged Blackbirds 11 Common Mergansers 7 American Robins 5 Eastern Bluebirds 6 Purple Finches 6 Great Blue Herons 5 Eastern Bluebirds 4 Palm Warblers 4 Pine Warblers 3 Northern Flickers 3 Belted Kingfishers 3 Double-crested Cormormants 2 Barn Swallows 2 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 Chipping sparrow 1 Common Loon 38 Species were seen or heard today.

Predictions:
Tomorrow is shaping up to be a nice day as well. Temperatures could climb a little higher than today. Winds should remain light out of the southwest, possibly shifting to a more southerly direction by the afternoon. There is a small chance of some isolated showers. Another day of warm temps with abundant sun and a tail wind could bring birds in similar numbers, or greater than we saw today.

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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