[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (16 Apr 2016) 128 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 16, 2016
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	38	260
Osprey	33	118	120
Bald Eagle	0	7	53
Northern Harrier	8	23	40
Sharp-shinned Hawk	19	103	142
Cooper's Hawk	1	10	54
Northern Goshawk	0	0	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	17	66
Broad-winged Hawk	54	90	91
Red-tailed Hawk	0	23	206
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	9	59	94
Merlin	0	6	10
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	1	4
Unknown Buteo	0	2	7
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	3	5	11
Total:	128	502	1160

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:30:00
Total observation time:	8.5 hours
Official Counter	Anna Stunkel
Observers:	Derek Lovitch, Lionel Quirion, Marion Zimmerman, Tom Downing, Zane Baker

Visitors:
54 people visited the hawkwatch.

Weather:
Another mostly clear, warm day allowed for pleasant viewing conditions on Bradbury Mountain. Winds were mainly from the north, and started out gusty but diminished as the day progressed. Raptor movement picked up as the wind calmed during the afternoon.

Raptor Observations:
Broad-winged Hawks were moving along nicely, and there was a good flight of Osprey and Sharp-shinned Hawks. Birds started out low and distant this morning. As the windspeed calmed, many raptors came closer and some high birds were counted. Visitors had the opportunity to get excellent views of birds, including Broad-winged Hawks, kestrels, and a local immature Bald Eagle.

Non-raptor Observations:
The first White-throated Sparrow of the season was heard calling. 31 bird species were observed from the summit today.

Species deemed migrating:

56 Tree Swallows

4 Purple Finches

2 Brown-headed Cowbirds

2 Double-crested Cormorants

2 finch sp.

1 blackbird sp.

Predictions:
Tomorrow should be a very good day for hawkwatching. With predicted sunny skies, warm temperatures, and light winds, there could be quite a few raptors moving through. Winds should start out from the north, shifting around as the day progresses and a southeasterly sea breeze comes in. However, windspeed will be light enough that it should not interfere much with migrating raptors. Given today's numbers during moderate north winds, the lighter breeze tomorrow should allow for even better hawkwatching conditions.

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