[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (12 Apr 2018) 117 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 12, 2018
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	2	358	562
Osprey	32	75	75
Bald Eagle	0	15	70
Northern Harrier	11	28	31
Sharp-shinned Hawk	30	79	100
Cooper's Hawk	6	18	39
Northern Goshawk	0	1	4
Red-shouldered Hawk	3	19	65
Broad-winged Hawk	5	5	5
Red-tailed Hawk	5	59	162
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	18	27	36
Merlin	2	13	16
Peregrine Falcon	1	1	1
Unknown Accipiter	1	2	3
Unknown Buteo	0	0	1
Unknown Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	1	2	4
Total:	117	703	1175

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Dave Fensore, Dave Gulick, Derek Lovitch, Don Thompson, Linda Hartzell, Mathew Gilbert, Rick Hartzell

Visitors:
25 people stopped by the hawkwatch today, 18 of whom were students and teachers from the Standish Baptist Academy, interested in what we were searching for.

Weather:
There was a brief taste of the warm spring weather I have been hoping for recently. The morning was calm and warm for a couple of hours. It wasn't long before the winds kicked up, from the SE, and brought in some cool ocean air. Wind speeds were significant at times. Clouds increased steadily during the day, out ahead of some rainfall which should pass by tonight. Air temps climbed to a high of about 51 degrees.

Raptor Observations:
It was a good day for raptors, especially from a diversity standpoint. We had a couple of firsts for the season, including a Peregrine and a few Broad-wings. Birds were spotted in all directions today, but many of them passed by the summit at close range, rewarding the onlookers with their aerial prowess.

Non-raptor Observations:
A few new species showed up at the mountain today including the first Pine Warbler and Double-crested Cormorants. A pair of courting Ravens, flying in tandem, was fun to watch this morning.At the end of the day, I spotted a whirlpool of 9 Great Blue Herons, all circling, beak to feet, like a game of musical chairs in the sky. The music being the howling wind. I don't have a whimsical metaphor for the chairs. Species deemed migrating north include: 193 Blackbird Spp. 20 Tree Swallows 20 Great Blue Herons 18 Canada Geese 5 Common Mergansers 4 Double-crested Cormorants 2 Eastern Bluebirds 2 Duck Spp. 1 American Robin 1 Purple Finch

Predictions:
Well, good and, not so good news. To quote the National Weather Service, tomorrow "will likely be the last warm-ish day in a while, with highs in the 50's and 60's." Winds should be relatively mild, from the SW, which typically produces the best flights, as this provides a nice tailwind for migrants, helping them to conserve energy. Sky cover should be increasing as the day progresses. Out of the next few days, tomorrow could be the best of the bunch.

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Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (freeportwildbird@yahoo.com)
Bradbury Mountain State Park information may be found at: www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/bradbury-mountain-hawkwatch
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

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