[Maine-birds] Fw: Bradbury Mountain State Park (15 Mar 2023) 32 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 15, 2023
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	15	15	15
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	12	12	12
Northern Harrier	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	0	0
Cooper's Hawk	1	1	1
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	4	4	4
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	0
Merlin	0	0	0
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	0	0
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	0
Total:	32	32	32

Observation start time:	10:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	6 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Dave Fensore, Jeannette Lovitch

Visitors:
9 visitors stopped by for the first day.

Weather:
It was a late start for opening day due to some strong winds and potential rain and snow showers still lurking in the area. We opened officially at 11am EDT. Conditions weren't as bad as expected given the forecast. Gusty north winds were mostly buffered by the tall pines to our backs. Clouds parted around midday and the rays of sun warmed us up for a bit. Later in the afternoon the sky filled back in and the wind picked up in intensity. Temps remained fairly mild in the 30's. Visibility was good.

Raptor Observations:
Not a bad start to the season. I wasn't sure we would break double digits on a short day with strong winds in mid March. Turkey Vultures made their first appearance shortly after our arrival followed by Eagles and Red-tails. There was good variation in ages and plumage of many of the Eagles. There was a nice aerial battle between a young up-and-comer and a mature Eagle who didn't seem to want to engage in any roughhousing. Most birds remained fairly distant from the summit except for a couple mature Eagles.

Non-raptor Observations:
Hi everyone! Welcome back to the 2023 Bradbury mountain spring hawkwatch from Pownal Maine. Thanks to Jeannette and Derek of Freeport Wild Bird Supply who sponsor this site and who have hired me back for another season. I'm looking forward to what the season has to offer and see some old friends and maybe make some new ones. Don't hesitate to come up and help spot or ask questions. The trail conditions are a little sloppy at the moment and require footwear with good grip. The trail could get icy if temps drop. The species list was pretty light, as the woods were almost silent today. A few birds did sound off a couple of times and those included: Common Raven American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper European Starling Tufted Titmouse Canada Goose Mourning Dove Herring Gull Downy Woodpecker

Predictions:
Some of the gusty winds may remain throughout the night and into the mid morning hours tomorrow but should be calming over the course of the day. Winds should be coming from the NW and maybe switching to W by early afternoon. Cloud cover should be minimal and the temps could be into the mid 40's which should helps dry up some residual snow at the summit. With light winds and abundant sun we could have a decent second day. Maybe some thermal production can persuade a few more Vultures to move through.

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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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