[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (30 Mar 2024) 4 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 30, 2024
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	264	264
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	0	21	21
Northern Harrier	1	10	10
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	16	16
Cooper's Hawk	0	12	12
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	21	21
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	0	26	26
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	0
Merlin	1	6	6
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	0	0
Unknown Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	0
Total:	4	378	378

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, Ted Michalek

Visitors:
22 people stopped by the site with many more out enjoying the trails on a sunny day.

Weather:
Today's strong winds matched what was predicted pretty well. Gusty NW winds persisted for much of the morning, forcing me to keep a point of contact with the scope most of the time. Winds finally became more subdued by mid afternoon and skies cleared out early, allowing for some welcome sunshine. Temps were mild and in the 40's. The brilliant sunlight washed out the color and detail in the landscape and produced some bad heat distortion with the optics.

Raptor Observations:
I was really hoping to see some more movement after the rain but the high winds likely kept that from happening. Some local birds were out, especially Red-tails who were often kiting in the wind, frozen in space. Vultures and Eagles were being pushed around, often unable to maintain a heading.

Non-raptor Observations:
Not many song birds were out or moving north but there were a couple of highlights. I think this was the first time I've seen a group of 6 Killdeer all moving together past the mountain, with a 7th showing up a little later. Earlier in the day we had another sighting of 5 Sandhill Cranes moving very slowly to our E, flying into the wind. It wasn't a satisfying view but still fun to see. The best sighting of the day was a group of about 25 Bohemian Waxwings which stopped off briefly in the dying juniper bushes at the summit. They were not phased by the large crowd of people just feet away.

Predictions:
I know I say it a lot but I am optimistic about tomorrow. Please don't hate me if I'm wrong. Tomorrow looks like a decent day, with temps getting near 50 and a little cloud cover lending some contrast for our eyes. Winds are still from the NW but much lighter. They're coming at some point I promise.

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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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