[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (24 Mar 2017) 1 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 24, 2017
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	15	15
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	0	27	27
Northern Harrier	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	1	1
Cooper's Hawk	1	2	2
Northern Goshawk	0	1	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	8	8
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	0	15	15
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	0
Merlin	0	0	0
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	0	0
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	0
Total:	1	69	69

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	12:00:00
Total observation time:	2.5 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Derek Lovitch

Visitors:
Despite many cars at the base of the mountain, only three people visited the summit today.

Weather:
Today's count began with cloudy skies yet very good visibility. Looking through binoculars, certain landmarks appeared close enough to touch. Winds remained light from the southwest but increased by midday. Temperatures remained below freezing. Snow flurries arrived a couple of hours ahead of the predicted time. The count was postponed for about 45 minutes before starting and stopping again.

Raptor Observations:
With the added persuasion of a few American Crows, the only raptor migrating today was a Cooper's Hawk. During the lull in snowfall, a local Red-shouldered Hawk and a Red-tailed Hawk decided to run a few errands before retreating to the trees.

Non-raptor Observations:
The morning's Passerine flight was lower in numbers than anticipated. Northbound birds included: 23 European Starlings 5 American Robins A grand total of 14 species were seen or heard from the summit.

Predictions:
Tomorrow's forecast is calling for mostly cloudy skies and a very light northerly breeze. Winds may shift to more northwest by the afternoon. Temperature could reach as high as the mid 40's in parts of the region. There's a chance we see some migrant activity in the next couple of days prior to the predicted weather at the beginning of the week. The biological clock is ticking for these birds.

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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