[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (05 Apr 2019) 39 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park

Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 05, 2019
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	20	87	427
Osprey	0	5	6
Bald Eagle	3	7	52
Northern Harrier	2	9	15
Sharp-shinned Hawk	4	10	25
Cooper's Hawk	4	6	25
Northern Goshawk	0	0	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	2	55
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	2	12	106
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	2	10	36
Merlin	0	0	5
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Unknown Accipiter	1	1	2
Unknown Buteo	1	1	3
Unknown Falcon	0	0	2
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	1	2
Total:	39	151	765

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Dave Fensore, Steve Gruverman, Tom Foley

Visitors:
11 people visited the watch today. Thanks to everyone who helped scan the skies with me today.

Weather:
Today was pretty nice. It started out sunny and warm with just a hint of wind from the north and west. Clouds slowly moved in from the south and west, becoming completely overcast by the last two hours of the count period. Winds swung around to more southeast by about 3pm EST, bringing in some cold ocean air. Temps in the 40s dropped as the winds increased from the southeast. Heat distortion was problematic for most of the day, until the afternoon clouds, at which point visibility became very clear.

Raptor Observations:
Certainly not a bad day of counting but not quite what I had hoped for with the light winds, sun, and a possible push from the approaching rain. Turkey Vultures trickled through for much of the day, often coming by solo or in pairs. I had to add a couple more unidentified birds to the list due to distance and heat shimmer which is always frustrating. Two Male Harriers traveling together high over the summit was a highlight of the day.

Non-raptor Observations:
There were a total of 25 birds identified from the summit today, including two more first of season birds, a Northern Flicker and two Fox Sparrows who hung around the summit for a little while.

Predictions:
There's a chance tomorrow morning we'll see the tail end of some showers moving out. Hopefully thing dry up on the earlier side and the count can get underway without much of a holdup. Temps should be significantly higher tomorrow, possibly in the 50s. Winds look pretty good from the SW, shifting more westerly throughout the day but remaining light. Sky cover should dissipate during the day.

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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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