Bradbury Mountain State ParkPownal, Maine, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 23, 2017 |
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 251 | 511 |
| Osprey | 11 | 288 | 288 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 28 | 63 |
| Northern Harrier | 4 | 160 | 164 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 9 | 375 | 387 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 42 | 50 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 75 | 123 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 107 | 784 | 784 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 90 | 152 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 7 | 378 | 379 |
| Merlin | 1 | 28 | 29 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Unknown Raptor | 2 | 20 | 24 |
| Total: | 145 | 2536 | 2975 |
| Observation start time: | 07:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9 hours |
| Official Counter | Zane Baker |
| Observers: | Dave Gulick, Don Thompson, Sea Mckeon |
Visitors:Quite a lot of people visited the mountain today. At times, it sounded like a day at the beach, minus the crashing surf. Thank you to everyone who squinted skyward with me today. Conditions were nice, and at the same time, challenging. Thanks
Weather:Thanks to the field of Astronomy and years of personal experience, I knew the sun would be back at some point, and today was the day! The sun pummeled the summit for the duration of the day, with very few clouds to speak of. Winds at the start were north-northwest, changing to south-southeast by 1pm. From 3pm to closing, there was a very stiff and cool sea breeze from the southeast. Temperatures climbed to a high of about 60 degrees.
Raptor Observations:I feel like I have been crying wolf about our local Goshawk. The bird seems to appear when I am the only birder on the mountain, or just before or after the arrival or departure of others. Today, the bird was seen again to the east, in the hour prior to the official start of the count. Overall, this was a good day for diversity of species. Local birds were active as migrants passed by, some low some high. Birds were, at times, difficult to find against the bright blue sky. Raptors peppered the sky in all directions with no clear flight line developing. A pair of mature Bald Eagles passed by in close proximity to the summit, chasing each other. They headed east before turning to make a second pass at eye level in front of the mountain. Unfortunately, the large crowd of forty or more people had mostly come and gone right before the birds arrived. Even though they are a common sight, this was an impressive show not to be missed.
Non-raptor Observations:One Sandhill Crane slowly made its way past the mountain in the late morning. The bird could be heard vocalizing as it traveled northeast. A few birds were seen migrating north today, including:
148 Double-crested Cormorants
42 Tree Swallows
4 American Goldfinches
3 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Killdeer
1 Purple Finch
1 Barn Swallow
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
Predictions:More sun is predicted for tomorrow, with highs reaching towards 60 degrees. Some clouds may move in later in the day. Winds should be light. Wind maps show some variability in the direction, while other predictions are calling for east-northeast. I'll let you all know what happens tomorrow. There may be some wet weather in the coming days. With a nice day predicted for tomorrow, maybe some birds will move ahead of any rain.
Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (
freeportwildbird@yahoo.com)
Bradbury Mountain State Park information may be found at:
www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/hawkwatch.asp
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