[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (21 Apr 2016) 980 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 21, 2016
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	38	260
Osprey	81	336	338
Bald Eagle	1	11	57
Northern Harrier	33	78	95
Sharp-shinned Hawk	186	432	471
Cooper's Hawk	2	15	59
Northern Goshawk	0	0	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	3	24	73
Broad-winged Hawk	447	892	893
Red-tailed Hawk	3	47	230
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	186	322	357
Merlin	24	33	37
Peregrine Falcon	1	1	1
Unknown Accipiter	0	1	4
Unknown Buteo	4	7	12
Unknown Falcon	3	3	3
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	6	13	19
Total:	980	2253	2911

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	18:30:00
Total observation time:	10.5 hours
Official Counter	Anna Stunkel, Derek Lovitch
Observers:	Anna Stunkel, Chuck Barnes, Dave Gulick, Derek Lovitch, Jeannette Lovitch, Lionel Quirion, Tom Downing, Zane Baker

Visitors:
28 people visited the hawkwatch. Thank you to the visitors and volunteers who helped out, asked great questions, provided snacks for the hawkcounter, and shared the joy of this big day!

Weather:
Weather conditions were excellent for raptor migration. There was a very light breeze which started off westerly in the morning, becoming southwesterly for much of the day. Temperatures were mainly in the high sixties, allowing for good thermal development. Skies were mostly clear, with excellent visibility.

Raptor Observations:
It was an amazing day, with 980 migrating raptors counted. We had beautiful views of close Broad-winged Hawks soaring and banking in the sunlight, American Kestrels snatching insects from the air, well-fed Sharp-shinned Hawks fluttering by with full crops, and more. The morning started off slow (compared with the rest of the day), with most birds distant and/or very high overhead. Activity became very busy in the afternoon, especially from 5:00-6:00 pm EDT, when 246 raptors were counted. Raptors were circling up and streaming off from many directions, often close over the summit. Quite a few birds thermalled up in the gap and streamed directly overhead. Kettles were mostly composed of Broad-winged Hawks, with Sharp-shinned Hawks and American Kestrels scattered amongst them and other birds streaming off individually. Kestrel and Osprey numbers picked up during the latter half of the day. We had some excellent close views of Merlins and Northern Harriers, with good numbers of these species. The first Peregrine Falcon of the season zipped by low over Hedgehog Mountain.

Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor migrants also put in a strong showing today. There were many long strings of Double-crested Cormorants passing by, along with large flocks of Common Grackles and American Robins. The first Blue-headed Vireo of the season was seen and heard singing nearby. Late in the afternoon, two Wilson's Snipe zipped over the mountain.

49 bird species were observed.

Species deemed migrating:

682 Double-crested Cormorants

393 Common Grackles

128 American Robins

65 Tree Swallows

30 blackbird sp.

20 passerine sp.

13 Red-winged Blackbirds

11 Great Blue Herons

6 Canada Geese

4 Brown-headed Cowbirds

4 warbler sp.

4 Yellow-rumped Warblers

2 duck sp.

2 Wilson's Snipe

1 American Goldfinch

1 Belted Kingfisher

1 Palm Warbler

Predictions:
Tomorrow should be a good day, given the number of birds that have been moving through and the weather forecast. Overcast skies and temperatures in the low sixties are expected, with light southeasterly winds. As long as the clouds stay high and breeze is light, birds should be moving along nicely.

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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