[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (25 Mar 2017) 19 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 25, 2017
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	16	31	31
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	0	27	27
Northern Harrier	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	2	2
Cooper's Hawk	0	2	2
Northern Goshawk	0	1	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	9	9
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	1	1	1
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:	19	88	88

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Derek Lovitch

Visitors:
A total of 28 people stopped by the count today, many of whom stayed ask questions and share bird stories.

Weather:
Today was one of the more pleasant days of the count so far. Mild temperatures and little to no wind for most of the day. Clouds blanketed the sky for the duration of the count period. Atmospheric conditions created a magnifying effect when looking through optics. Landmarks appeared larger and closer than usual.

Raptor Observations:
We finally had a decent push of birds today, however, the start of the day felt like a repeat of the past few. Only local birds were spotted early on. The local Cooper's Hawk was displaying over its territory close to Hedgehog Mountain. Our first of the year Peregrine Falcon was spotted today which was quite exciting considering we average only 5 per season. Afternoon hours brought an influx of Turkey Vultures. We'll see in the coming days whether this group becomes the local gang or if they move on.

Non-raptor Observations:
1 Killdeer was heard as it traveled to the north. 20 species were seen or heard from the summit, including a Bard Owl which nests in the park.

Predictions:
Tomorrows conditions don't appear to be ideal for flying. Winds are predicted to be light but coming from the northeast and shifting to southeast by days end. Temps could reach the high 30's with mostly sunny skies. Despite today not being the most ideal flying weather, we still had birds moving. Maybe we can see another small push of birds tomorrow.

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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