[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (12 May 2022) 29 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: May 12, 2022
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	1
Turkey Vulture	0	0	470
Osprey	9	53	281
Bald Eagle	0	14	96
Northern Harrier	1	10	83
Sharp-shinned Hawk	6	162	644
Cooper's Hawk	1	8	52
Northern Goshawk	0	0	3
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	3	123
Broad-winged Hawk	8	338	1571
Red-tailed Hawk	0	3	136
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	1	60	300
Merlin	2	36	75
Peregrine Falcon	0	3	6
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	6
Unknown Buteo	0	0	5
Unknown Falcon	0	1	4
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	1	6	19
Total:	29	697	3875

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	17:00:00
Total observation time:	8.5 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Alan Peoples, Biz Houghton, Derek Lovitch, Ted Michalek, Todd Watts

Visitors:
I got to meet a few other Hawkcounters from two different sights at opposing sides of the country today and bounce the trials and tribulations of hawkcounting off of eachother. Ted, it was great to have met you this season, and it was a pleasure having you up to help me spot. Happy birthday to your wife and maybe we'll meet again. A big thanks to Channel 13's Charlie Lopresti and his team for giving our site a big plug during his live weather broadcast from the summit. Here is a link to WGME's facebook page with a behind the scenes look at their segment which also will give folks a look at our count site if you are unfamiliar. Copy and paste https://www.facebook.com/WGME13/videos/1090893371770723/

Weather:
Another fantastic day of weather for the hawkcounters. Temps got into the 70's which felt awesome for a change, even though I was a little ripe by the end of the day. There was a little cloud cover overhead but it was paper thin, allowing for pretty direct sun to hit the summit all day, but just dense enough to help spot a few birds. Winds were quite stagnant for much of the count until the afternoon when a light onshore breeze kicked up from the SE. I'd take another day like today but with a side of SW please.

Raptor Observations:
Better than the past few days but not the flight of immature Broad-wings we're hoping to see. Birds were scattered around the sky as they moved northward without any kettles or flight lines developing. Local birds were out in force, especially the BW's, 'tails and Coop's. I was surprised at how long the day progressed before seeing my first Eagle which wasn't until afternoon. That's one species I can be pretty sure to see on a daily basis, if the visibility is good and I don't get rained out. A small handful of birds were still going north afterhours in the amber afternoon light.

Non-raptor Observations:
I couldn't seem to find any FOY's today but the species list looks better than I've been doing, with a total of 36 species seen or heard today. It is nice to have some more bird song in my life and I was treated to some for most of the day. Northbound birds include: 64 Double-crested Cormorants 9 Blackbird spp. 9 Tree Swallows 7 Chimney Swifts 6 Barn Swallows 5 Brown-headed Cowbirds 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds 1 American Goldfinch 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Cliff Swallow In the early evening we had a bird give a slight buzzy call as it seemed to move through the trees to the east. Derek and I speculated, or should I say, Derek speculated but we were ultimately left with a mystery.

Predictions:
Clouds in the morning giving way to more sun in the afternoon. Temps back up to the mid to high 60's. Winds are so close to SW but I'm afraid it might be closer to S. Wind speeds might be a little stiff at times with some gusting predicted for the afteroon. I didn't hear no bell! We're still in this fight with 3 day's to go.

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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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