Monday, 7 April 2014

[Maine-birds] Fwd: HSR: Bradbury Mountain State Park (07 Apr 2014) 216 Raptors



From: reports@hawkcount.org
Date: April 7, 2014 at 6:04:54 PM EDT
To: freeportwildbird@yahoo.com
Subject: HSR: Bradbury Mountain State Park (07 Apr 2014) 216 Raptors
Reply-To: freeportwildbird@yahoo.com


Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 07, 2014
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0
Turkey Vulture              59            121            346
Osprey                      35             58             59
Bald Eagle                   1              5             53
Northern Harrier             8             31             39
Sharp-shinned Hawk          39             83            108
Cooper's Hawk                3             17             46
Northern Goshawk             0              2              6
Red-shouldered Hawk         12             47            168
Broad-winged Hawk            0              0              0
Red-tailed Hawk             24            113            338
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              1
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            31             44             47
Merlin                       1              5              9
Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              1              6
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               3              7             13

Total:                     216            534           1240
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end   time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours

Official Counter:        Katrina Fenton

Observers:        Becky Marvil, Dan Nickerson, Dave Gulick, Derek Lovitch,
                 Don Thompson, Noah Gibb, Zane Baker

Visitors:
Despite the warm temperatures, there were few people out enjoying the
mountain besides hawkwatchers. Cookies, donuts, and other snacks made the
rounds, and everyone had a front-row seat to the show of migrants. There
were 12 visitors in total.


Weather:
The sky was nearly free of clouds to start the day before a high, thin
overcast worked its way in from the south. A light wind gradually increased
to a stiff SSE sea breeze, lending wind chill to the 50 degree
temperatures. There is more rock and dirt than ice on the trails, and
hopefully they will be completely clear by the end of the week.

Raptor Observations:
Right on cue, raptors began to rise at 9:00a.m, taking advantage of the
wind and thermals. The push of birds slowed in the afternoon when the wind
picked up, but there were still plenty of migrants to be found. The Osprey
count has more than doubled in each of the last two days, with the peak of
the season still to come.

Non-raptor Observations:
Today was dominated by waterbirds and blackbirds. More than 50 Great Blue
Herons were counted, and a single Great Egret was a rare first-of-year.
Other firsts included a singing Song Sparrow at the summit (another
uncommon species from the hawkwatch), Red-breasted Nuthatches, and a
Northern Flicker.

Non-raptor Migrants:
Double-crested Cormorant- 8  Canada Goose- 1,436
Common Merganser- 36  American Black Duck- 39
Mallard- 19  anas sp.- 29  duck sp.- 67
Great Blue Heron- 57  Great Egret- 1  Killdeer- 5
waterbird sp.-28 Tree Swallow- 40  
American Crow- 24   Eastern Phoebe- 1
American Robin- 89  Red-winged Blackbird- 175
Common Grackle- 359  Brown-headed Cowbird- 21
blackbird sp.- 802  American Goldfinch- 3
Purple Finch- 4  finch sp.- 1  passerine sp.- 13  

Predictions:
Rain in the morning, but once it moves out and the clouds lift, conditions
should be pretty good. The wind will be out of the south at 10-15mph with a
few stronger gusts, and clouds will break apart for partly-cloudy skies in
the afternoon. Temperatures could rise close to 60F, and birds will be
ready to head out after the soggy start to the day.
========================================================================
Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (freeportwildbird@yahoo.com)
Bradbury Mountain State Park information may be found at:
www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/hawkwatch.asp


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