[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (31 Mar 2024) 20 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 31, 2024
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	9	273	273
Osprey	1	1	1
Bald Eagle	1	22	22
Northern Harrier	2	12	12
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	18	18
Cooper's Hawk	0	12	12
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	22	22
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	4	30	30
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	0
Merlin	0	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:	20	398	398

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Amanda Petry, Derek Lovitch, Dick Baker, Rich Fortin, Ted Michalek

Visitors:
23 people stopped by to inquire about the project. Many more people came and went during the course of the day.

Weather:
It was a gorgeous start to the day with zero wind and direct sunshine. A few passing clouds made the air feel a little chilly. Sky cover came and went during the day but overall it was pretty sunny. Winds became stronger than expected at times with some gusts trying to take any loose papers. To our S, in Portland, winds were substantially stronger than what we were feeling at the summit. Visibility was good but not great, due to heat shimmer.

Raptor Observations:
It was a good day overall for raptors but not what we were thinking might happen. There was a lot of local activity from Eagles, 'tails and Vultures. A couple times in the afternoon, Eagle pairs were seen locking talons and spiraling towards the ground in courtship behavior. Very cool! The birds headed N today were able to find some thermals, as many were spotted pretty high above. Our first Osprey, with a fish, showed up just in time to be included in some family photos being taken at the summit.

Non-raptor Observations:
Right out of the gate it looked like there was going to be a good flight of Grackles as one large flock of over 100 headed out early, however, by the end of the first hour everything seemed to go quiet. Bird song and foraging was suddenly hard to come by. A couple Tree Swallows pushed on and may regret that decision later in the week.

Predictions:
The next couple days could be interesting with some more unsettled weather coming later in the week, hopefully pushing some birds our way. Tomorrow looks decent, with some southerly winds. SW would be ideal but they may shift to be a little closer to S. S might push in a Peregrine if we're lucky. Temps should be in the 40's again with partly cloudy skies.

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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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