[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (02 May 2024) Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: May 02, 2024
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	628
Osprey	0	0	393
Bald Eagle	0	0	47
Northern Harrier	0	0	138
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	0	387
Cooper's Hawk	0	0	30
American Goshawk	0	0	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	30
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	1211
Red-tailed Hawk	0	0	50
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	294
Merlin	0	0	45
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	2
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	9
Unknown Buteo	0	0	4
Unknown Falcon	0	0	11
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	14
Total:	0	0	3294

Observation start time:	09:30:00
Observation end time:	14:00:00
Total observation time:	4.5 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:

Visitors:
My Dad.

Weather:
Heavy rain, thunder and lightning delayed the start by 90 minutes. Skies were beginning to look brighter so I moseyed up the Norther Loop. While on the trail dense fog was creeping in and destroyed the view with a wall of white, limiting sight to 3/4 of a mile. I waited it out and then waited a little longer before it cleared towards the coast. However, it did not last long before closing in again. After a number of hours with little to no visibility I realized I wasn't going to win today and packed up at 3pm EDT. There was a light mist throughout the day and winds from the SE were light. Temps were only in the mid 40's. Hawkcounting, hmmf.

Raptor Observations:
One local Broad-wing gave me something to look at a few times with some low passes by the summit.

Non-raptor Observations:
I chose to take a longer trail this morning to listen for bird song in the woods and assess the trails. The parking area has been and was very active with dozens of American Goldfinches, which were still present when I left. The woods were still quite silent. The first bird I found flying today was a Doubl-crested Cormorant flying just below treetop level barely visible in the fog, cruising up Rte 9 in front of the mountain.

Predictions:
Tomorrow should be drier with mostly cloudy skies and winds starting from the NNE and switching to the SSE by the afternoon. Temps should be warmer and in the 50's. Hopefully there are some birds getting restless to our south and ready to push forth.

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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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