[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (27 Apr 2016) 148 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 27, 2016
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	38	260
Osprey	9	424	426
Bald Eagle	0	13	59
Northern Harrier	2	106	123
Sharp-shinned Hawk	26	592	631
Cooper's Hawk	0	18	62
Northern Goshawk	0	0	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	25	74
Broad-winged Hawk	98	1629	1630
Red-tailed Hawk	1	54	237
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	5	370	405
Merlin	5	50	54
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Accipiter	0	2	5
Unknown Buteo	0	7	12
Unknown Falcon	1	4	4
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	1	14	20
Total:	148	3347	4005

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:15:00
Total observation time:	8.25 hours
Official Counter	Anna Stunkel
Observers:	Dave Gulick

Visitors:
16 people visited the hawkwatch, including a Daisy troop from Cumberland/North Yarmouth.

Weather:
It was a beautiful morning, with clear skies and a very light wind mainly from the west. The layer of snow that accumulated yesterday melted in the sunlight. Temperatures started out just above freezing, but warmed gradually and reached 10 degrees Celsius by the end of the afternoon. Skies remained mostly clear throughout the day, but the westerly wind picked up quite a bit during the afternoon.

Raptor Observations:
Raptor movement started off strong from the beginning of the count. There was a lull during early afternoon when the winds started to pick up, but bird movement increased again after about an hour of moderate winds. Many raptors were quite high, especially during the afternoon. The first confirmed immature Broad-winged Hawk of the season flew low over the summit today.

Non-raptor Observations:
The first Black-throated Green Warbler of the season was heard singing today. Just before the counted ended, a Barred Owl called several times. 43 bird species were observed.

Species deemed migrating:

81 Double-crested Cormorants

6 Tree Swallows

5 American Robins

2 Brown-headed Cowbirds

2 Pine Siskins

1 Barn Swallow

1 Common Grackle

1 warbler sp.

Predictions:
Tomorrow's forecast looks great, with light westerly winds in the morning and clear skies. Winds should shift to become more southwesterly during mid-afternoon, which could cause a nice push 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