[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (18 Apr 2016) 186 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 18, 2016
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	38	260
Osprey	36	211	213
Bald Eagle	0	8	54
Northern Harrier	5	35	52
Sharp-shinned Hawk	30	202	241
Cooper's Hawk	1	13	57
Northern Goshawk	0	0	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	2	20	69
Broad-winged Hawk	86	322	323
Red-tailed Hawk	1	38	221
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	25	127	162
Merlin	0	6	10
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	1	4
Unknown Buteo	0	3	8
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	7	13
Total:	186	1031	1689

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Anna Stunkel
Observers:	Jay Stormer, John Berry, Lionel Quirion, Noah Gibb, Rick Hartzell

Visitors:
61 people visited the hawkwatch. It was great to see many enthusiastic young birders as school vacation begins.

Weather:
Winds were generally from the northeast, and very light other than a little gusting in the morning. Skies started out partly cloudy, becoming cloudier and eventually overcast towards the end of the count. It was nice and warm, with temperatures in the fifties to sixties. Visibility was particularly good today.

Raptor Observations:
There were good numbers of Broad-winged Hawks once again, along with a nice flight of Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawks, and American Kestrels. Birds started off rather low, but by the afternoon many of them followed high flight paths overhead. Activity level dropped off during the last half hour of the count, perhaps because of approaching rainclouds. Three resident adult Bald Eagles put on a good show for visitors. A spunky little Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen diving on an Osprey, and several American Kestrels caught insects in mid-flight.

Non-raptor Observations:
The first Chipping Sparrow of the season was seen and heard today, and the first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the season was singing nearby. 36 bird species were observed.

Species deemed migrating:

122 Double-crested Cormorants

31 Tree Swallows

3 Brown-headed Cowbirds

3 Northern Flickers

1 Belted Kingfisher

1 Common Grackle

1 Common Merganser

1 Great Blue Heron

Predictions:
Scattered showers are predicted for tomorrow, with mostly light north northeast winds and temperatures in the high forties to low fifties. Fog is also possible in the morning, which may delay the count if it enshrouds the mountain. Overall conditions will probably make for a slow day. However, during late afternoon winds should shift to become more southerly. If showers diminish during this time, there could be an afternoon flurry of migration.

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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