[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (24 Mar 2019) 20 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park

Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 24, 2019
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	4	132	132
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	5	40	40
Northern Harrier	1	1	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	2	2
Cooper's Hawk	1	12	12
Northern Goshawk	0	1	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	35	35
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	9	61	61
Rough-legged Hawk	0	2	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	0
Merlin	0	4	4
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	2	2
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	1	1
Total:	20	293	293

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

Visitors:
58 People stopped at the watch today, and many more roamed the summit on this fantastic Sunday.

Weather:
It was an absolutely beautiful day to be on top of the mountain. The sun was shining for most of the day, with the exception of the final hour. Clouds remained high and thin, providing an excellent backdrop for spotting birds. Temperatures climbed to the high 40s. Visibility was very good, becoming excellent by the days end, after denser clouds cooled things down and the radiating heat distortion disappeared.

Raptor Observations:
On paper, today was shaping up to be a pretty good day but real world testing of that theory didn't pan out. It was a very slow start to the day. Even local bird activity seemed quiet. Our first migrants didn't show until the second hour. There was a good push of Red-tails today, some of whom did seem to be gaining more lift as the day progressed. We did see our first Northern Harrier in the afternoon. A nice adult male.

Non-raptor Observations:
Morning Passerine flights never really materialized. A couple dozen Grackles and a handful of Crows. The bulk of non raptors was in the form of Canada Geese, with a total of 228.

Predictions:
Maybe today I'll curb my enthusiasm for tomorrows birding predictions. Again, on paper, tomorrow has some potential. Light northwest winds and about 8mph aren't terrible. Sunny skies with temps in the mid to upper 30s are certainly tolerable this time of year. I think there will be some birds moving, but I'm not guessing as to how many. Come join me at your own discretion.

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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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