[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (07 Apr 2017) 225 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 07, 2017
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	62	171	431
Osprey	17	21	21
Bald Eagle	2	14	49
Northern Harrier	22	31	35
Sharp-shinned Hawk	30	47	59
Cooper's Hawk	4	15	23
Northern Goshawk	0	3	5
Red-shouldered Hawk	9	35	83
Broad-winged Hawk	1	1	1
Red-tailed Hawk	19	49	111
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	49	51	52
Merlin	8	10	11
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	0	1
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	1	1
Unknown Raptor	2	3	7
Total:	225	452	891

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Gary Jarvis, Josh Fecteau, Marion Chang, Tom Downing

Visitors:
35 People visited the hawkwatch today including a group of teenage kids from a school in Portland. It was surprisingly difficult to get an answer from the kids as to where they had all come from. One young man implied he had come from the sea. Today was a really fun day on top of Bradbury. Thank you to everyone who stuck around to help. I appreciated the enthusiasm everyone brought with them.

Weather:
Today's weather was slightly more propitious for birds and people alike. When I arrived at the summit this morning I felt as though I was standing in the exhaust of an industrial clothes dryer on a cold day. The air was saturated, and visibility would increase and decrease by miles in a matter of seconds. Visibility did improve, although light fog and haze remained for the entirety of the count. Winds remained light but steady from the south and south southeast. For a brief time in the early afternoon hours winds shifted to almost directly east, before shifting back south. By midday clouds had begun to part, allowing for a direct path of the sun's rays to reach the summit. Temperatures reached into the upper 40's.

Raptor Observations:
Today officially marked our first of the season Broad-winged Hawk. The bird appeared in the sky to the northwest along with a few other birds on the same flight line. It took me a second to realize there was something new and different about this bird, compared to what we had been seeing. Oh! A Broad-wing. The bird was in no mood for a photo-op, and carried on to the north, disappearing as quickly as it had arrived. Our local Red-shouldered Hawk was spotted early on, a moment before starting to vocalize, possibly trying to drive away an adult Bald Eagle who had been perched in a nearby Pine tree. Possibly the highlight of the day for me and others, was a Northern Goshawk. I first noticed the bird moving overhead from the northeast to the west southwest. The mass of the bird and flight direction almost made me write it off as our local Red-tail. I had started making the I.D of an American Kestrel near to the bird when my gut instinct told me to take a second look. Sure enough, this was not a Buteo but a huge Accipiter. I, and others, came to the realization at the same time that we had a close Northern Goshawk. Everyone scampered for their optics of choice: binoculars, scope, or camera. A few successful photos were taken. After about two minutes, the bird was seen again moving back in the direction from which it came. Could we have a resident Goshawk?

Non-raptor Observations:
332 Common Grackles were counted today along with 55 Red-winged Blackbirds. Due to my primary goal of counting raptors, I was unable to count each blackbird flock. Total mixed species Blackbird numbers were probably closer to 600-800 birds. One other first of the season bird was an Eastern Phoebe, which was singing momentarily. Other northbound birds included: 62 Canada Geese 55 American Robins 40 American Crows 21 Cedar Waxwings 19 Common Mergansers 8 Tree Swallows 5 Great Blue Herons 4 Purple Finches 4 American Goldfinches 3 Killdeer 2 American Black Ducks A total of 36 species were seen or heard today.

Predictions:
Saturday may start out with overcast skies and a possible lingering shower. Skies should clear as the day progresses. Temperatures should climb into the mid 40's. Winds should be out of the west northwest at 10-15. Warm temperatures and sunny skies should bring more birds for the weekend. A westerly breeze may keep birds out in front of us before they turn inland.

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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