[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (12 Apr 2019) 78 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 12, 2019
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	10	142	482
Osprey	6	54	55
Bald Eagle	0	16	61
Northern Harrier	15	45	51
Sharp-shinned Hawk	31	90	105
Cooper's Hawk	1	18	37
Northern Goshawk	0	1	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	13	66
Broad-winged Hawk	2	3	3
Red-tailed Hawk	2	29	123
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	7	36	62
Merlin	3	10	15
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	2
Unknown Accipiter	0	2	3
Unknown Buteo	0	2	4
Unknown Falcon	0	1	3
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	1	2
Total:	78	464	1078

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, Jeannette Lovitch, Katrina Fenton, Levi Burford, Mathew Gilbert

Visitors:
17 visitors today.

Weather:
Today started out crisp, calm and clear. Skies remained overcast for the entire day which helped maintain crystal clear visibility. The lack of sun and humidity in the air did keep temps feeling on the cooler side, with highs holding steady at about 42 degrees Fahrenheit for much of the day. The final couple of hours in the day and the wind started to pick up, bringing in some chilly ocean air from the SSE.

Raptor Observations:
It took an hour before the birds started flying but it was a productive, active morning, which is when most of today's birds came through. Things slowed down around noon until there was a small resurgence at about 3-4pm EST. It was another good day with many different species. One of the highlights was the number and proximity of the The Gray Ghosts which seemed to be emanating from behind a close pine tree to our southwest. Throughout the day an occasional Harrier would suddenly appear from behind the tree and slowly drift out in front of the mountain as it moved north. As the day crept forward and the approaching rain moved closer from the south, many flights became grounded, including 5 Turkey Vultures who touched down on the roof of a red barn just to the southwest of the mountain.

Non-raptor Observations:
A few more passerines were on the move today and our species list jumped back up, for a total of 39 species seen or heard from the summit. Two of those birds were first of season sightings, which were a Rock Pigeon and a Pine Warbler. Northbound migrants included: 169 Common Grackles 81Blackbird Spp. 80 American Robins 44 Canada Geese 31 Duck Spp. 25 Great Blue Herons 14 Common Mergansers 9 Brown-headed Cowbirds 7 Belted Kingfishers 7 Mallards 4 Red-winged Blackbirds 4 American Goldfinch 3 American Black Ducks 3 Tree Swallows 3 House Finches 2 Purple Finches 2 House Finches 1 Double-crested Cormorant 1 European Starling

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks like it could be a decent day, especially in the afternoon. The rain predictions have now been extended into the mid day, but may just be some light drizzle as the storm moves out. Lets hope so. Winds look good, from the southwest at about 10mph. Skies may be mostly cloudy with the possibility of some clearing later in the day. Temps ought to be quite nice, in the 60s.

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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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