[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (26 Mar 2018) 24 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park

Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 26, 2018
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	3	62	62
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	0	34	34
Northern Harrier	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	2	2
Cooper's Hawk	1	15	15
Northern Goshawk	0	3	3
Red-shouldered Hawk	6	10	10
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	11	40	40
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	0
Merlin	0	1	1
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	1	1
Unknown Buteo	0	0	0
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	1	1	1
Total:	24	169	169

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Tom Downing

Visitors:
13 people came by the hawkwatch today, one of whom decided to share a personal, heartbreaking story, figuratively and literally.

Weather:
It was a beautiful day to be outdoors. The sky was almost entirely cloudless until one small cirrus cloud peaked out from around the mountain looking for a little attention. Temperatures were mild at about 40 degrees, for a high. Winds continued to be mostly from the north and northeast today. With the abundant sun came a lot of heat distortion.

Raptor Observations:
The day started very slowly, with nothing being counted for the first three hours. A few of the Red Shoulders which passed by today came in relatively close to the summit, providing great looks at the birds beautiful plumage. Other migrants gained significant altitude, making for the first real neck cramping day. Today saw the first Sharp-shinned Hawk of the season. The bird was making evasive maneuvers from a pair of crows, ducking, dipping, and diving like a small bait fish.

Non-raptor Observations:
19 species of birds were seen or heard from the summit today.

Predictions:
A ridge of high pressure is going to keep us separated from some weather to our west, making for a nice Tuesday. Cloud cover should be minimal. Temps could climb to the mid 40's. Winds are still predicted to be from the north northeast but pretty light. If tomorrow starts off where today left off, it could shape up to a decent day.

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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
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

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