[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (04 Apr 2019) 7 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park

Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 04, 2019
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	2	67	407
Osprey	2	5	6
Bald Eagle	0	4	49
Northern Harrier	2	7	13
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	6	21
Cooper's Hawk	0	2	21
Northern Goshawk	0	0	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	2	55
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	0	10	104
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	8	34
Merlin	0	0	5
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	1
Unknown Buteo	0	0	2
Unknown Falcon	0	0	2
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	1	2
Total:	7	112	726

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:

Visitors:
14 visitors to the watch today.

Weather:
Well, I'm glad that's over. Weather predictions for today were pretty accurate. Strong west winds with prodigiously powerful gusts persisted for the entire day, kicking up sand and gravel and taking out one tree along the Summit Trail. Skies were nice and clear, allowing the sun to compete with the windchill. By late in the count period a few high and thin cirrus clouds started to approach from the west. Temps just broke 40 degrees by the final hour. Visibility was good with just a little heat distortion.

Raptor Observations:
The seven raptors I counted today were seven more than I thought I would see after assessing the first hour. Birds were spread out over the day and the sky, remaining fairly low as they traversed to the north. During the final few minutes of the day after scanning the skies I placed my eye to the scope which was facing east and at that time an Adult male Harrier just happened to pass through my field of view, highlighted by the golden afternoon light. One of my personal favorites. Didn't even have to work for that one.

Non-raptor Observations:
Early in the count I spotted three Sandhill Cranes taking a circuitous route to the southwest, clearly having some trouble with turbulence. They were far away and terribly lit, so not the most spectacular look we've had of these birds, but still pretty cool. The first Common Loon of the season was spotted moving from the coast back inland. A handful of Robins and three Tree Swallows were spotted moving south. Not much else was happening today, for good reason.

Predictions:
Clear skies to start the day will turn more overcast by midday as some wet weather approaches for Friday evening. Temps should be similar to today in the high 30s to low 40s. Winds look a little more propitious, starting out southwest with a slight shift to more directly south. Wind speeds will be much lighter at around 8-10mph. Let's hope some birds have been stacking up to our south and ready to move out ahead of the rain.

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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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