[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (18 Mar 2023) 14 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 18, 2023
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	4	25	25
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	2	24	24
Northern Harrier	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	2	2
Cooper's Hawk	0	2	2
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	5	10	10
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	3	12	12
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:	14	75	75

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

Visitors:
The first Saturday of the count saw 31 visitors to the count site. Many familiar faces, some of whom regard our project as their official start to spring.

Weather:
There was hardly a trace of perceptible wind today. Skies remained cloudy for longer than expected but the sun started to break through in the early afternoon. Temps were comfortable and warm, reaching into the high 40's by the end of the count. Visibility was good except for the first few minutes as some fog dissipated.

Raptor Observations:
It took some time before any raptors were seen today. Even local activity was at a minimum. At times the skies seemed eerily quiet especially given the mild conditions. Eagle activity picked up eventually and a group of six were seen off and on around the mountain. Later in the day with more sun reaching the ground bird activity increased slightly. The last two hours were our highest counts. Birds were finding plenty of lift in the afternoon, disappearing high overhead to the unadded eye.

Non-raptor Observations:
The morning saw a few more passerines headed north but nothing like yesterdays numbers. American Crows were moving past in groups of 20 or so. We had a rare if not the first sighting of ten Common Goldeneye pass over the summit. A lone vocalizing Red Crossbill was a nice treat but was terribly backlit. 28 species were seen or heard today.

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks like a mixed of weather. Sky cover may increase then diminish during the count with an exceedingly small chance of rain or snow flurries midday. Temps will likely be cold, in the low 30's, with winds blowing in the 20mph range and gusting into the upper 30's from the west. I'll stay optimistic for some birds given the westerly wind direction.

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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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