Bradbury Mountain State ParkPownal, Maine, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 18, 2024 |
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 355 | 628 |
| Osprey | 2 | 319 | 320 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 14 | 36 |
| Northern Harrier | 3 | 114 | 126 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 8 | 272 | 290 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 2 | 12 | 24 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 8 | 30 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 46 | 672 | 672 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 18 | 48 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 4 | 258 | 258 |
| Merlin | 0 | 15 | 21 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| Total: | 66 | 2091 | 2489 |
| 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, Jen Baker, Jim Pinfold, Rich Fortin |
Visitors:26 visitors today. Nice to meet you Jodie, or is it with a "y"?
Weather:Today was a little bit chilly with a persistent and unobstructed ESE wind which swept the summit for the majority of the day. Skies were mostly clear with some scattered clouds which would have been great if there were more birds to be found. Visibility was good with some heat shimmer during the morning and midday, improving a bit in the afternoon.
Raptor Observations:Today's winds may have slowed or altered the migration of the birds we're searching for. Numbers were pretty low for mid April but it's hard to say whether birds were being pushed inland before getting to us, making it less likely they would be detected. The flight pattern we witnessed today was very different than what we usually see. Most of the birds we counted were coming at us from the WNW and sometimes NW moving to the ENE. Most often we are spotting birds coming at us from the SW and moving N, NW or NE. I spent far more time facing almost 180° in the opposite direction than usual. That helped even out the color on my other cheek. Local Broad-wings are now established and spending a lot of time in the air displaying and calling, making it a little more tricky to pick out the migrants. Often pairs of BW's would be seen passing by, before one bird would peel off back to base, simply escorting the countable bird out of the area.
Non-raptor Observations:I wish I had a little more to share here but it remains pretty quiet for passerines. A few more Yellow-rumped and a couple of Palm came through in the morning but not much else. Only 16 species were seen or heard, including the raptors.
Predictions:I'm packing an extra layer tomorrow as it looks like it could be similar to today but with cooler air temps in the upper 40's and a little more cloud cover. Winds are coming out of the ESE again, bringing some cool ocean air with it. Another front is approaching for tomorrow night and I hope persuades some birds to get ahead of it. ESE doesn't typically produce big flights but it is about the peak of the migration season and I have been mistaken before.
Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (
freeportwildbird@yahoo.com)
Bradbury Mountain State Park information may be found at:
www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/bradbury-mountain-hawkwatchMore information at
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