[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (02 Apr 2017) 91 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 02, 2017
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	66	66	326
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	7	7	42
Northern Harrier	0	0	4
Sharp-shinned Hawk	3	3	15
Cooper's Hawk	2	2	10
Northern Goshawk	0	0	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	5	5	53
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	7	7	69
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	1	1	2
Merlin	0	0	1
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	0	1
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	4
Total:	91	91	530

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Dave Gulick, John Lorenc

Visitors:
30 people came to the hawkwatch on this fine Sunday. People took advantage of the fleeting snow. Snowmobiles may have made there final visit to the summit for this season. Thanks to everyone who helped search high and low with me today. Some great catches of birds, which may have gone undetected without the extra eyes.

Weather:
Well, today's weather was a pleasant surprise. The predicted winds and afternoon clouds never appeared. Wind was very light, out of the north northwest. An occasional gust came up two to three times, but was still pretty tame. Clouds dissipated as the day progressed, and remained scattered. A great looking sky for finding birds overhead. Temperatures climbed into the forties by the afternoon, yet felt much warmer when the sun made direct contact with your skin. Glare from the fresh snow caused some squinting early on. By the end of the day, most of the Granite summit had melted and evaporated. I was made aware today, that this March was the 8th coldest on record for Portland, and tied 2014 for the most days (10) which did not rise above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. A likely contributing factor to low migrants, early in the season.

Raptor Observations:
It was another good day for Turkey Vulture migration. They started moving early, with a small lull midday, before picking up steam again. Local eagles are still being seen to our southwest, scouting out some farm fields with possible food. Migrant eagles today were mostly immature, with a few birds displaying some very light plumage overall. At the close of the day, an adult Bald Eagle flew past, with what looked like fishing gear wrapped around its feet. The bird could be seen picking at it. The more logical explanation would be that the bird was collecting nesting material and simply adjusting its grip. Let's hope so.

Non-raptor Observations:
Besides raptors, there were not many other birds flying or vocalizing today. Only 16 species were seen or heard.

Predictions:
Tomorrow is shaping up to be another nice day. High temps could be similar to today, in the high 40's and possible breaking 50. Cloud cover remains light over the region, and winds should to be light from the northwest. Too bad it's the start of the work week. Seems like another good day for flying, and with more precipitation on the way for Tuesday, we could potentially see more movement similar to what happened on Friday.

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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