[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (26 Apr 2024) 35 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 26, 2024
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	355	628
Osprey	1	371	372
Bald Eagle	0	18	40
Northern Harrier	3	124	136
Sharp-shinned Hawk	10	342	360
Cooper's Hawk	1	15	27
American Goshawk	0	1	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	8	30
Broad-winged Hawk	9	1164	1164
Red-tailed Hawk	0	19	49
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	5	282	282
Merlin	4	32	38
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	2
Unknown Accipiter	2	9	9
Unknown Buteo	0	4	4
Unknown Falcon	0	10	11
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	14	14
Total:	35	2769	3167

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Biz Houghton, Don Thompson, Jim Pinfold

Visitors:
The park seemed empty today. A precocious young birder named Ophelia came back for another season and helped spot some hawks. I think she discovered a new species, which she has now named the White Shield. Be sure to post any sightings to ebird. John, James, Jeff, Stephen? I think I forgot, again, sorry. It was good to meet you. Thanks for sticking it out on a slow day and hopefully you get a chance to see a bunch of birds moving before the season ends. Don't forget Feathers Over Freeport tomorrow and the Hawk ID workshop at the summit at 10:30am. https://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/discover_history_explore_nature/activities/feathers_over_freeport.shtml

Weather:
The first and second half of the day felt quite different. The morning winds from the N were blustery and made the low 40 degree air seem chilly whereas the afternoon was almost dead calm and temps climbed into the upper 50's. Skies were mostly blue with a couple tiny clouds visible for a brief moment. Heat shimmer was intense today.

Raptor Observations:
Another very slow start to the day. It was a slow drip of birds throughout the day with a slightly steadier flow for a few minutes during the final hour. Birds were gaining some lift despite the breeze and were disappearing overhead. The best and closest look at a Broad-winged Hawk occurred early in the day as two birds passed in opposite directions about 25' in front of me, one bird calling as it buzzed by and you could see the hard palate of it's mouth.

Non-raptor Observations:
A White-throated Sparrow and a Northern rough-winged Swallow were new birds for the season. The summit remained mostly quiet again, with only 23 species being seen or heard, momentarily.

Predictions:
The weather for Saturday looks a little different than it did earlier in the week. Temps should be pleasant and in the mid to upper 50's. Visibility should be decent but we may be lacking some clouds for eye contrast. Winds look variable, starting from the NW moving through N and settling on SE. I don't know how much stock I'd put in the wind predictions, given they haven't held up for a few days now. Hopefully we get some birds passing by while the park is full of visitors.

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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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