[Maine-birds] Fw: Bradbury Mountain State Park (20 Mar 2022) 91 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 20, 2022
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	47	114	114
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	7	44	44
Northern Harrier	4	9	9
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	14	14
Cooper's Hawk	3	12	12
Northern Goshawk	0	1	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	15	73	73
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	6	77	77
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	4	6	6
Merlin	3	4	4
Peregrine Falcon	0	2	2
Unknown Accipiter	0	1	1
Unknown Buteo	0	1	1
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	1	1
Total:	91	359	359

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

Visitors:
Many visitors stopped by this morning to inquire about the project, since I was just standing there in the fog looking dumb for a couple hours. We had a few birders show up for a brief time to help look. 39 people in total.

Weather:
Well, today didn't turn out as expected. The morning fog shrouded the summit upon arrival and lingered for another four and a half hours. Fog retreated towards the coast slowly but stayed put right at the coastline. There were a few patches of blue sky visible during the afternoon but no direct sun on the summit. The morning and much of the day was damp and raw with temps climbing into the low 40's. The gusty wind I was anticipating never showed.

Raptor Observations:
There was a lot more raptor talk than raptor counting for the first half of the day. Once the fog moved back we began seeing birds, starting with two close Merlins. Our second to last hour of the day was the most productive with a total of 48 birds. There was a lot of powered flight with the lack of thermal production and birds weren't seen very high and often following similar flight lines. A new high day count in half the time.

Non-raptor Observations:
Not a lot of flying from the blackbirds today but the geese were making a pretty good run. In the final hours of the watch Derek spotted a group of gulls moving northeast, with the second bird in line looking slightly different. He identified the bird as a Lesser black-backed gull. The first sighting from Bradbury! Other migrants included: 697 Canada Geese 118 Common Grackles 90 American Robins 16 Duck spp. 12 American Black Duck 12 Red-winged Blackbirds 8 Eastern Bluebirds 5 Brown-headed Cowbirds 4 Mallards 2 Killdeer 2 House Finches 2 Purple Finches 1 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL* *Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull northbound with 7Herring Gulls. Slightly smaller with proportionately long and narrow wings. Medium-dark, charcoal-gray back significantly darker than Herring Gull but not as black as Great Black-backed Gull. Mostly dark flight feathers on underwing blended into black outer primaries.

Predictions:
Today's weather didn't play out as predicted so we'll see how tomorrow goes. I feel more confident about the generally high northwest winds and gusts in the 30's predicted for tomorrow but time will tell. We're due for some early season "blow" days. Air temps should still be a little above normal, in the low to mid 40's. Some overnight clouds and rain should move out, leaving plentiful sunshine.

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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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