[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (15 Apr 2019) 67 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park

Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 15, 2019
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	4	213	553
Osprey	22	148	149
Bald Eagle	3	21	66
Northern Harrier	4	77	83
Sharp-shinned Hawk	12	156	171
Cooper's Hawk	2	26	45
Northern Goshawk	0	1	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	2	30	83
Broad-winged Hawk	4	23	23
Red-tailed Hawk	3	54	148
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	11	143	169
Merlin	0	14	19
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	2
Unknown Accipiter	0	2	3
Unknown Buteo	0	2	4
Unknown Falcon	0	2	4
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	4	5
Total:	67	917	1531

Observation start time:	09:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	7 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Dave Fensore, Mathew Gilbert, Steve Gruverman

Visitors:
Only seven visitors today.

Weather:
I was able to get in a lot more time at the summit than I expected to today. The heavy morning rain pushed off the coast to the east early on, only delaying the start by one hour and forty five minutes. A little bit of fog lingered for a few minutes but the visibility cleared up quickly. By midday the clouds started to part and the summit was bathed in brilliant sunshine for a while. Temps started out cool and damp but climbed quickly to the low 50s. Winds remained calm. In the afternoon, off to the west, the skies were darkening as more rain was on its way. By about a quarter to five we started to lose sight of Portland and the first few drops started to fall as we packed up.

Raptor Observations:
Birds were slow to get going today with greater numbers coming through during the last third of the count period. More immature Red-tails and Shoulders coming in high above once the sun had a chance to create some thermals. One of the closest birds of the day gave us a great show. An immature Cooper's Hawk circled low to the summit in the afternoon light, highlighting it's freshly filled crop. Since the 15th is the cutoff for counting Vultures at this site, the four Vultures counted today were an exception to the rule. These birds were clearly acting as migrants. They were spotted to the south, gained lots of altitude and continued straight through the area without so much as a glance backwards.

Non-raptor Observations:
There were only a handful of non raptors moving north today, but it seemed like Great Blue Herons stole the show with a total of 15 passing by often in small groups. A Hermit Thrush was one of the first birds to be heard today, which is the first one detected up here this season. Another first for this years count was a single Barn Swallow which zipped passed my field of view while scanning the skies.

Predictions:
Wind, and a lot of it. NW winds will be strong and gusty, just shy of wind advisory levels as currently predicted. Clouds should be diminishing during the morning hours. Temps will be similar to today, in the 50s, but the wind chill will probably make it feel about ten degrees cooler. If winds are as strong as predicted I wouldn't expect to have a real big day even though it's mid April. Maybe the birds will prove me wrong.

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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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