| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 16, 2016 |
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Northern Goshawk | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| Observation start time: | 08:15:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Anna Stunkel |
| Observers: | Derek Lovitch, Jeannette Lovitch, Julie Krasne, Tom Downing, Zane Baker |
Visitors:11 people visited hawkwatch today.
Weather:Showers ended early but fog remained a problem, further delaying the start of the 2016 season by an extra 15 minutes. But even by 8:15EST, visibility was poor. However, by 9:00EST, with the ceiling rapidly lifting and a very light northerly wind, a few birds were on the move. Although a few peaks of sun and patches of blue sky became evident in the afternoon, a shift to northeasterly winds reduced the light flight even further.
Raptor Observations:Unlike last year, Turkey Vultures and other local birds were already on the scene, immediately making the deciphering of migrants more challenging. But our first migrant of the season was a Northern Goshawk at 8:45EST - a great way to get the season started. A later observation of what may have been the same bird was intriguing - do we have a local Gos' this year (it's been a few years)? Cooper's Hawks were displaying, a couple Red-tailed Hawks were back at their usual territories, and Bald Eagles kept us busy, with numerous birds milling about.
Non-raptor Observations:The first two avian migrants of the season were a pair of Common Mergansers that passed by at 9:18am. A trickle of other non-raptor migrants was detected in the first few hours of the count. Species deemed migrating: 12 Canada Geese 10 Mallards 4 American Goldfinches 3 American Robins 2 Common Mergansers 2 Eastern Bluebirds 2 Purple Finches 1 Killdeer 1 Pine Siskin 1 Red-winged Blackbird
Predictions:Tomorrow is shaping up to be an interesting day meteorologically, and perhaps too for raptors. After the potential for early-morning showers and/or drizzle, we expect a dry period with the possibility of southwesterly winds (one forecast is calling for SW, the other SE). Couple that with a little sun or at least a high ceiling, and we could have a pretty good flight ahead of an approaching cold front that may trigger some rare early-season thunderstorms by day's end. Now that the count season is officially underway, I'll take a moment to introduce our counter. This year, we welcome Anna Stunkel as our official Hawkcounter. Anna spent the previous two falls working as a hawkcounter and educator with Intermountain Bird Observatory in Idaho. Her hawkwatch resume also includes time at Golden Gate Raptor Observatory in California. Her Maine ties include receiving her Bachelor's degree from College of the Atlantic and working as a seabird colony monitor on Petit Manan Island. For 2016, Leica Sport Optics has joined us, Freeport Wild Bird Supply, in sponsoring the project. More information about the project can be seen here:
http://www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/hawkwatch.asp -DL (Anna will take over the writing of the daily reports tomorrow)
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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