[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (06 Apr 2019) 29 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 06, 2019
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	8	95	435
Osprey	3	8	9
Bald Eagle	2	9	54
Northern Harrier	0	9	15
Sharp-shinned Hawk	5	15	30
Cooper's Hawk	2	8	27
Northern Goshawk	0	0	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	3	5	58
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	5	17	111
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	1	11	37
Merlin	0	0	5
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Unknown Accipiter	0	1	2
Unknown Buteo	0	1	3
Unknown Falcon	0	0	2
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	1	2
Total:	29	180	794

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Asa Paul, Dave Fensore, Tim Paul, Tom Downing

Visitors:
According to park ranger Andy, this was the busiest day in the park since last fall, and it definitely felt that way at the summit. Lots of people and dogs came and went for the entirety of the day. Recent news articles may have piqued the interest of a few of those people to check out the hawkwatch site. 25 people stopped to ask questions or help search the sky. Thanks everybody

Weather:
Today was certainly a taste of spring. The day started out a little damp, with some fog and a low ceiling of overcast skies which soon began to break apart, giving way to partly cloudy skies, allowing lots of warm sun to bathe the summit. Winds varied in direction, with mostly a westerly flow. Wind speeds were very light and at times dead calm. Temperatures were a balmy 54 degrees Fahrenheit for a high.

Raptor Observations:
Today was a bit of a head scratcher. The conditions and time of year seemed conducive to producing a good flight of birds, but we had a difficult time finding a whole lot. There were multiple pairs of watchful eyes, so we had the sky pretty well covered. Birds today were all over, and thermal production was good as some birds such as a few Osprey and Red-tails had gained quite a bit of elevation. I don't feel as though we missed birds high overhead, as we had a good mix of clouds to provide contrast for our eyes. I think the local pipeline has been cleared out and we're waiting for new arrivals to build in from our south. It was a good mix of birds overall with nothing new or out of the ordinary for the season.

Non-raptor Observations:
Passerine species and number were low as well today. With only 22 different species seen or heard today.

Predictions:
Tomorrow is another day which looks good on paper. Mild temps similar to today, with a light west wind shifting to southwest by midday. Clouds should be increasing during the day as some more rain approaches for Monday. With a small storm system approaching, sun and light SW winds, this is pretty close to precisely what were looking for in terms of bigger days. Time will tell however.

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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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