[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (16 Apr 2022) 445 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 16, 2022
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	1	1
Turkey Vulture	23	285	470
Osprey	25	159	160
Bald Eagle	0	12	72
Northern Harrier	3	57	72
Sharp-shinned Hawk	104	302	332
Cooper's Hawk	2	18	35
Northern Goshawk	0	1	3
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	22	116
Broad-winged Hawk	252	550	550
Red-tailed Hawk	0	27	128
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	31	198	208
Merlin	3	10	14
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	3
Unknown Accipiter	0	5	6
Unknown Buteo	1	4	5
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	5	6
Total:	445	1656	2181

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Biz Houghton, Dave Fensore, Don Thompson, Jim Pinfold, Mathew Gilbert

Visitors:
40 visitors today. I was glad to meet some more birders who hadn't been to the sight yet, and I am appreciative of everyone's contributions. It was a busy day but it didn't feel hectic.

Weather:
The weather cooperated for us for much longer than the forecast had suggested, and we stayed mostly dry today. A high layer of clouds covered the area the entire day with a few brighter patches of sky developing in the afternoon before closing in again. At the start of the day the winds were pretty light and coming from the southwest. By late morning the wind speed increased but remained southwest for most of the day. There was a brief period of drizzle midday then a period of calm dry air, followed by more drizzle and rain to finish out the day. Visibility was good and the temps were comfortable, in the low 50's.

Raptor Observations:
Birds took advantage of the tailwinds today. I showed up early hoping to see some movement ahead of the predicted rain and was able to spot a handful of birds taking to the skies. The bulk of our numbers were captured in the first half of the day around mid morning. The first round of drizzle which wasn't severe or last very long seemed to put a damper on the flight. The rest of the day was more of a slow trickle with each passing hour turning up fewer birds. There did seem to be a bit of a flightline developing today with many birds coming from over the trees to our west southwest and passing overhead. I may have dropped the ball on Turkey Vultures today. By the 15th there are typically many established local birds around and it becomes more difficult to distinguish the migrants, so we typically only count TV's after the 15th which appear high overhead and traveling far and point to point so as not to be confused with foraging locals. However, in retrospect the sky today seemed to have quite a few more TV's and I may have ignored some true migrants as my attention was put towards the other raptor species coming through. A highlight today was a close Merlin which came in close and disappeared to the NW only to come screaming back a few minutes later, diving on something in the trees hugging the summit face. Swing and a miss, the bird vanished into the understory then shot straight into the air only to make a few lazy circles over our heads before moving on.

Non-raptor Observations:
Two more first of year birds today, a Chipping Sparrow and a vocal Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Right before closing there was a group of about 33 Trees Swallows a few hundred feet above the summit. They swarmed around in the same spot for a minute of two possibly feeding on some high insects, which were certainly out today.

Predictions:
The weather now looks better than when I checked this morning. Precipitation potential has been reduced a little more. Heavier rain should tapper in the early morning but there is still a slight chance of showers or drizzle. Winds aren't quite as favorable as today but not horrible. Wind gusts could be strong in the afternoon coming from the northwest. Temps will be a little cooler, in the upper 40's and low 50's.

---

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]

---