[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (07 Apr 2023) 56 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 07, 2023
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	10	178	488
Osprey	12	21	21
Bald Eagle	2	4	41
Northern Harrier	3	20	44
Sharp-shinned Hawk	12	25	45
Cooper's Hawk	1	4	15
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	7	40
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	1	7	58
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	13	41	49
Merlin	0	0	7
Peregrine Falcon	0	2	3
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	2
Unknown Buteo	0	0	0
Unknown Falcon	1	1	1
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	2
Total:	56	310	816

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

Visitors:
There were a lot more people out today than the past few days. 18 visitors stopped by.

Weather:
It was warm and calm for a few seconds as I stepped out onto the summit this morning. Winds from the W quickly began to blow, becoming quite blustery for the day. The sky was great for hawkwatching, with a mix of sun and high thin clouds. In the afternoon more dense cloud cover moved in from offshore, blocking out the brilliant sun and also dropping temps. While the sun was shining we reached into the 50's. Visibility was good and improved with the increasing clouds in the afternoon.

Raptor Observations:
Not bad overall given the conditions. Some birds climbed much higher than I had anticipated today possibly finding calmer air a little higher up. There were more birds moving during the morning hours before the winds got really strong. The unfortunate yet, dare I say awesome highlight of the day was when a pair of Juncos landed next to me on a grassy patch. As I turned away there was an unfamiliar sound of panic. I turned back to see a Coop carrying away a Junco at knee height, following the contours of the granite and disappearing into the woods. I can't tell if this was the original Hawkwatch Junco or one of the three imposters he was battling with yesterday. I don't know what I'll do without HJ by my side calling out falcons and accipiters. Season's ruined.

Non-raptor Observations:
A little visible migration today which was fun. Grackles were the bird of the day, moving through in groups of one hundred or more, often close to the mountain. Sandhill Cranes were a nice surprise despite mostly unsatisfying views. 23 species were seen or heard. Northbound birds include: 1024 Common Grackles 430 Blackbird Spp. 22 Canada Geese 16 American Robins 16 Red-winged Blackbirds 11 Tree Swallows 3 Sandhill Cranes 3 Common Mergansers 2 American Robins 2 Eastern Bluebirds 1 Killdeer 1 Purple Finch FOY Mourning Cloak Butterfly

Predictions:
More NW winds predicted but much lighter. NW can still produce decent flights if the winds aren't too strong. Hopefully we will have a few clouds to help us spot but it should be mostly sunny with highs in the 40's.

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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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