Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA
Visitors:
Don't forget, tomorrow kicks off the Feathers Over Freeport weekend event. Activities and fun for all ages. Check out the link for more details. https://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/discover_history_explore_nature/activities/feathers_over_freeport.shtml Three visitors to the watch today.
Weather:
The rain I though was going to hold off until at least late morning was racing me to the summit this morning. Upon opening a light rain had already move into the area. The radar showed that most of it was breaking up as it moved northeast, which was true, so it wasn't a soaking rain. The cold onshore breeze from the SSE helped to dry up much of the moisture that landed. Temps were in the low 40s and dropped slightly up until the point I closed, just before noon. Skies remained cloudy for the duration of the count period, which helped with clarity even though visibility was limited in distance. Conditions at the summit began to deteriorate around 11am with increasing bouts of drizzle and some more sizable rain drops. Local radar showed heavier rain just to the south, approaching Portland. I reassessed at quarter past the hour and decided to wait another 15 minutes. At 11:30 I snagged one more bird and shut 'er down. Thought I might make it back in the afternoon but with steady mist, few birds in the am and a radar which had more rain coming, I called it a day.
Raptor Observations:
There was not much to see this morning except for a few locals out patrolling and displaying over their respective territories. The Red-shoulder was doing aerial acrobatics over Little Bradbury and a, now local Broadwing was displaying, looking like a giant moth in flight, out towards Hedgehog. The local Gos' made a brief appearance this morning as well, circling around to the SSE before dropping into a field to the SW of the mountain.
Non-raptor Observations:
One Double-crested Cormorant was spotted traveling north. Just before leaving, a yellow headed bird zipped by me as it dropped over the summit towards the parking lot. Our first of the season Black-throated Green Warbler.
Predictions:
Tomorrow looks better than it did a few days ago. Rain showers should be tapering to a minimum throughout the morning with a chance of light pop-up showers throughout the day. Temps should be more mild than today, with highs getting up towards the 50s. Skies should be mostly cloudy during the count period. One thing that is looking very positive is the predicted SW winds which could be stiff and may shift to a bit westerly by the afternoon. Even though we had one of the biggest day-counts on easterly winds recently, I'm not about to give up on SW any time soon. Hopefully the migratory restlessness, or zugunruhe is too much for the birds and they take to the skies.
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]
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 26, 2019 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 233 | 573 |
| Osprey | 0 | 363 | 364 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 27 | 72 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 131 | 137 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 3 | 472 | 487 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 36 | 55 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 42 | 95 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 2677 | 2677 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 87 | 181 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 403 | 429 |
| Merlin | 0 | 52 | 57 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 11 | 12 |
| Total: | 3 | 4546 | 5160 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 11:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 2.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Zane Baker |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
Don't forget, tomorrow kicks off the Feathers Over Freeport weekend event. Activities and fun for all ages. Check out the link for more details. https://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/discover_history_explore_nature/activities/feathers_over_freeport.shtml Three visitors to the watch today.
Weather:
The rain I though was going to hold off until at least late morning was racing me to the summit this morning. Upon opening a light rain had already move into the area. The radar showed that most of it was breaking up as it moved northeast, which was true, so it wasn't a soaking rain. The cold onshore breeze from the SSE helped to dry up much of the moisture that landed. Temps were in the low 40s and dropped slightly up until the point I closed, just before noon. Skies remained cloudy for the duration of the count period, which helped with clarity even though visibility was limited in distance. Conditions at the summit began to deteriorate around 11am with increasing bouts of drizzle and some more sizable rain drops. Local radar showed heavier rain just to the south, approaching Portland. I reassessed at quarter past the hour and decided to wait another 15 minutes. At 11:30 I snagged one more bird and shut 'er down. Thought I might make it back in the afternoon but with steady mist, few birds in the am and a radar which had more rain coming, I called it a day.
Raptor Observations:
There was not much to see this morning except for a few locals out patrolling and displaying over their respective territories. The Red-shoulder was doing aerial acrobatics over Little Bradbury and a, now local Broadwing was displaying, looking like a giant moth in flight, out towards Hedgehog. The local Gos' made a brief appearance this morning as well, circling around to the SSE before dropping into a field to the SW of the mountain.
Non-raptor Observations:
One Double-crested Cormorant was spotted traveling north. Just before leaving, a yellow headed bird zipped by me as it dropped over the summit towards the parking lot. Our first of the season Black-throated Green Warbler.
Predictions:
Tomorrow looks better than it did a few days ago. Rain showers should be tapering to a minimum throughout the morning with a chance of light pop-up showers throughout the day. Temps should be more mild than today, with highs getting up towards the 50s. Skies should be mostly cloudy during the count period. One thing that is looking very positive is the predicted SW winds which could be stiff and may shift to a bit westerly by the afternoon. Even though we had one of the biggest day-counts on easterly winds recently, I'm not about to give up on SW any time soon. Hopefully the migratory restlessness, or zugunruhe is too much for the birds and they take to the skies.
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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