[Maine-birds] Fw: Bradbury Mountain State Park (10 Apr 2023) 79 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 10, 2023
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	5	189	499
Osprey	27	53	53
Bald Eagle	0	4	41
Northern Harrier	2	24	48
Sharp-shinned Hawk	7	42	62
Cooper's Hawk	0	4	15
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	2	10	43
Broad-winged Hawk	3	4	4
Red-tailed Hawk	0	8	59
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	26	77	85
Merlin	3	3	10
Peregrine Falcon	0	2	3
Unknown Accipiter	2	3	5
Unknown Buteo	0	0	0
Unknown Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	2	2	4
Total:	79	426	932

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Brandon Baldwin, Dave Fensore, Dick Baker, Jessica Costa

Visitors:
13 visitors

Weather:
What a beautiful day with brilliant blue skies and not a cloud in sight. Temperatures were nice and warm and in the 50's. Winds were light and a little variable. In the afternoon wind came around a little further than we would have liked, passing through SW and landing more on SSE bringing in some cool ocean air. Visibility was tough with a lot of heat distortion.

Raptor Observations:
Another slow start to the day but all in all it was a productive day. Not the most satisfying looks as most birds were far from the mountain. We had a lot of eyes scanning during the first half but we were mostly coming up short. Spotting birds and moving from binoculars to the scope was challenging with the blue sky and no clouds for contrast or depth perception or reference. I lost a few in the transition and from the heat shimmer. It was a good day for Kestrels and and many Osprey came through as pairs. The timing of a comment and a defecating Kestral was a highlight today. You had to be there.

Non-raptor Observations:
Really slow on the passerine movement again. A few Geese and a trickle of Tree Swallows were about all. There were some blackbirds but nothing like I was getting ready for. We did have a new arrival which was a Northern Flicker. 24 species were seen or heard.

Predictions:
Tomorrow could be pretty warm and in the mid 60's. There should be a little more cloud cover which could be useful. Winds are predicted to be SW but becoming strong and possibly gusting into the 30's during the afternoon. If birds are moving they'll be moving fast.

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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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