[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (17 Apr 2018) 35 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 17, 2018
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	358	562
Osprey	14	110	110
Bald Eagle	0	15	70
Northern Harrier	2	37	40
Sharp-shinned Hawk	6	101	122
Cooper's Hawk	2	21	42
Northern Goshawk	0	1	4
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	20	66
Broad-winged Hawk	3	11	11
Red-tailed Hawk	1	62	165
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	7	42	51
Merlin	0	13	16
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Accipiter	0	3	4
Unknown Buteo	0	1	2
Unknown Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	2	4
Total:	35	799	1271

Observation start time:	11:00:00
Observation end time:	14:00:00
Total observation time:	2.5 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:

Visitors:
1 visitor

Weather:
After a couple of days away, the hawkwatch was back to business, well, kind of. Morning fog and drizzle delayed the start for three hours.When I arrived at the summit, at noon, the visibility was unlimited to the south and east. Sun was poking through the dense, low cloud cover, highlighting Portland and a few islands in Casco Bay. Winds were very light, from the WSW. Areas of fog and light rain could be seen lingering to the west, some of which occasionally passed over the summit, briefly reducing visibility. By 2pm EST, drizzle turned to rain and visibility was closing in on a quarter of a mile.Local radar confirmed a large pocket of rain pinwheeling over the area, which didn't clear out in time to justify returning.

Raptor Observations:
It doesn't take much of a tailwind to convince some birds to move. The instant I got to the summit I was aware of the change in wind direction, from what we had been experiencing recently, and birds were on the wing. Sharpies and Osprey weren't going to wait for me to put down my supplies, they had places to be. I scrambled to get a closer look before they disappeared. A large percentage of birds moving north today were spotted far to the SE. Not many close encounters today.

Non-raptor Observations:
I saw the first Common Loon of the season headed inland, feet trailing out the backside.

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks promising. Winds look to be a little strong, but from the SW, which is what we've been hoping for. Temps could climb into the lower 50's, with partly cloudy skies in the morning giving in to mostly cloudy skies in the afternoon. With SW winds and more precipitation predicted for Thursday, tomorrow could be fun, as birds may be taking advantage of the breeze, and trying to avoid the approaching moisture.

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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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