[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (22 Apr 2017) Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 22, 2017
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	1	1
Turkey Vulture	0	251	511
Osprey	0	277	277
Bald Eagle	0	27	62
Northern Harrier	0	156	160
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	366	378
Cooper's Hawk	0	42	50
Northern Goshawk	0	5	7
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	75	123
Broad-winged Hawk	0	677	677
Red-tailed Hawk	0	88	150
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	371	372
Merlin	0	27	28
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	2
Unknown Accipiter	0	4	4
Unknown Buteo	0	3	4
Unknown Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Eagle	0	1	1
Unknown Raptor	0	18	22
Total:	0	2391	2830

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	13:00:00
Total observation time:	5 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:

Visitors:
34 seemingly bewildered people stopped to ask why I was standing motionless in the mist. For all of the birds, of course. About 15 young Cub Scouts sat nearby as I talked to them about birds of prey. Attention spans quickly waned and focus turned to my Leica spotting scope. Despite cold wet fingers, I was able to maintain a vice like grip on the tripod. 5 people with rakes, shovels, and pitchforks walked past early in the day, looking for witches, or, maybe they were clearing the trails. No no, definitely witches.

Weather:
Today's weather refused to change for the entire count period. Dense fog severely limited visibility from the mountain. There was not much wind to speak of, except for the occasional light breeze from the north northeast. Temperatures remained slightly below normal. Drizzle and heavy mist persisted until the time at which I decided there wasn't much use in sticking around.

Raptor Observations:
I did not see or hear any birds of prey today.

Non-raptor Observations:
Four Wild Turkeys visited the summit this morning. I could just barely see the tops of their heads as they climbed up and over the granite face of the mountain. They made a quick dash through some Juniper bushes before taking flight towards the northeast.

Predictions:
There should be some clearing by tomorrow. Partly cloudy skies are predicted, with a north northwest wind switching to more south southeast by the afternoon. A sea breeze could keep temps on the cooler side, especially closer to the coast, maybe in the high 40s to mid 50s. Wind speeds could be 10-15mph. Finally a little more sun in the forecast. Let's hope it holds true. Northwest wind is certainly better than northeast. Tomorrow is looking promising at the moment. The final verdict will be made at 5pm tomorrow.

---

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