[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (01 Apr 2016) 50 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park

Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 01, 2016
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	14	14	236
Osprey	6	6	8
Bald Eagle	0	0	46
Northern Harrier	2	2	19
Sharp-shinned Hawk	7	7	46
Cooper's Hawk	1	1	45
Northern Goshawk	0	0	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	1	50
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	1
Red-tailed Hawk	6	6	189
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	12	12	47
Merlin	1	1	5
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	3
Unknown Buteo	0	0	5
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	6
Total:	50	50	708

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	15:30:00
Total observation time:	7.5 hours
Official Counter	Anna Stunkel
Observers:	Jeannette Lovitch

Visitors:
20 people visited the hawkwatch.

Weather:
The weather turned out to be much better for migration than expected, with a light breeze fluctuating between southeast and southwest. Low clouds along the horizon made distant visibility difficult for most of the day. Skies were overcast, and temperatures were nice and warm again. Precipitation held off until the end of the day, when a thunderstorm and pouring rain ended the count 30 minutes early.

Raptor Observations:
There was nice raptor diversity today. Turkey Vultures were on the move, and there was a little push of Osprey movement during early afternoon. Kestrels were also active, and a few were seen catching insect meals while on the wing. Many birds were following flight paths overhead today. Visitors had the chance to get close looks at several birds, including a local first year Bald Eagle, adult female harrier, kestrels, Osprey, and a Merlin.

Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor diversity was also good, with 39 bird species observed. Blackbird flocks were migrating in abundance this morning. The first Pine Warbler of the season was heard singing its melodious trill. Two Eastern Phoebes were busily flitting around the summit and singing throughout most of the day. This afternoon, the first Spring Peepers of the season were heard from the summit. Species deemed migrating: 91 blackbird sp.

45 Common Grackles

38 Red-winged Blackbirds

25 Tree Swallows

9 American Robins

6 European Starlings

3 American Goldfinches

2 Mallards

2 Northern Flickers

2 Pine Siskins

1 Great Blue Heron

1 Killdeer

Predictions:
Tomorrow is likely to be a cloudy day, with a cold front and occasional rain showers during the afternoon which may cause on and off counting. Winds are predicted to be south southeast but moderate in speed. There could be some nice raptor movement during the morning before rain arrives, although things will probably slow down during the afternoon.

---

Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (freeportwildbird@yahoo.com)
Bradbury Mountain State Park information may be found at: www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/hawkwatch.asp