[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (17 Apr 2019) 115 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 17, 2019
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	20	233	573
Osprey	23	187	188
Bald Eagle	0	22	67
Northern Harrier	3	81	87
Sharp-shinned Hawk	8	168	183
Cooper's Hawk	0	26	45
Northern Goshawk	1	2	3
Red-shouldered Hawk	3	33	86
Broad-winged Hawk	42	65	65
Red-tailed Hawk	7	63	157
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	5	151	177
Merlin	1	16	21
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	2	7	8
Total:	115	1061	1675

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Dave Fensore, Don Thompson, Josh Fecteau, Mathew Gilbert, Tom Downing, Tom Foley

Visitors:
With it being school vacation week the day felt a lot more like a weekend than a Wednesday. Lots of parents and young kids infiltrated the park and inquired about the project. 32 people in all approached the watch site.

Weather:
Despite the jetport reporting strong winds, the summit was pretty calm with an occasional breeze from the north. The trees may have been blocking the winds from making direct contact with us. The sun was bright and the sky was cloudless for the most part. Temps were mild in the 50's. Heat distortion was an issue for most of the day.

Raptor Observations:
Not as big a day as we would like to see at this point but it may have been a result of the northerly headwinds. The day did end in the triple digits, so not terrible. There was a steady supply of birds throughout the day. More and more Broadwings continue to be counted as they make their way from the Southern Hemisphere. Mid morning everyone was delighted to see a Goshawk, albeit slightly ragged, circling over the summit. Today birds were either really high or really far. I lost a couple Id's today due to heat shimmer and a split second view of a bird as it disappeared to the north.

Non-raptor Observations:
The skies and surrounding trees were quiet today. Tree Swallows continue to swirl there way passed the mountain, and they were the most common bird of the day despite not seeing huge numbers of them. A fleeting glimpse and a few flight calls from Pine Siskins was a nice sight this morning. In the afternoon we had another first for the season, which was a group of four Glossy Ibis flying low and moving to the west.

Predictions:
Tomorrow is looking a little bit cooler, in the 40s with increasing clouds and maybe some late day showers. Winds could be a little strong at 10-15mph from the SSE. Hopefully some birds are on the move ahead of the weather, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that the southerly flow brings in a Peregrine.

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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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