[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (13 Apr 2017) 45 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 13, 2017
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	1	1
Turkey Vulture	0	250	510
Osprey	16	190	190
Bald Eagle	0	23	58
Northern Harrier	3	141	145
Sharp-shinned Hawk	9	263	275
Cooper's Hawk	0	33	41
Northern Goshawk	0	4	6
Red-shouldered Hawk	2	70	118
Broad-winged Hawk	6	176	176
Red-tailed Hawk	4	78	140
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	3	308	309
Merlin	0	23	24
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	2
Unknown Accipiter	0	3	3
Unknown Buteo	0	1	2
Unknown Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Eagle	0	1	1
Unknown Raptor	2	10	14
Total:	45	1577	2016

Observation start time:	07:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8.5 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:

Visitors:
There were very few visitors on the mountain today. 18 people passed by, a couple of whom stopped briefly before moving on, once they realized there was not a lot of action.

Weather:
The start of today's count was a bit more pleasant than the finish. The first hour and a half was warm and sunny with a light west-northwest breeze. Perfect April T-shirt weather. By mid morning, wind speed increased substantially with occasional strong gusts. Wind direction shifted as well, coming more from the north-northwest. These conditions persisted for the rest of the day. Cloud cover increased more as the day progressed. Temperatures just climbed into the 50's, but the wind made it feel much cooler.

Raptor Observations:
Raptor migration was at its best during the morning hours, when winds were light and from the west-northwest. Birds became hard to come by as the wind picked up and shifted direction. Osprey didn't seem to mind the wind today, as they were seen consistently each hour. In my opinion, the highlight of the day was our local Goshawk flying directly towards my scope at eye level, before turning to the west. The bird disappeared briefly before popping up above the trees to the north. I watched it for a while longer as it did its best impression of a hunting Red-tail, somewhat unbecoming for this Accipiter species.

Non-raptor Observations:
I was hoping to see some song birds during the morning, which was part of the reason I got a slightly earlier start. That idea backfired, as it was one of the slower days I have had for Passerines in the past week. 31 species were spotted or heard from the summit today, including our first Hermit Thrush of the season.

Predictions:
Tomorrow could reach 60 degrees with lighter winds, from the north-northwest. There should be abundant sunshine for the entire day. Tomorrow is another day, lets hope these birds get their act together. I think some big number days are right around the corner.

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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