[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (01 Apr 2018) 337 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park

Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 01, 2018
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	264	264	468
Osprey	2	2	2
Bald Eagle	0	0	55
Northern Harrier	1	1	4
Sharp-shinned Hawk	21	21	42
Cooper's Hawk	1	1	22
Northern Goshawk	0	0	3
Red-shouldered Hawk	10	10	56
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	33	33	136
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	3	3	12
Merlin	2	2	5
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	1
Unknown Buteo	0	0	1
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	2
Total:	337	337	809

Observation start time:	07:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8.08 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Derek Lovitch, Jeannette Lovitch

Visitors:
50 people came by the hawkwatch.

Weather:
Winds were a little stiff today, but thankfully they were coming from the south and west and not terribly cool. Temperatures climbed from the low 40's to the mid 50's. An overcast sky gave way to abundant sun for the last couple of hours in the count. Visibility was very good today.

Raptor Observations:
What an awesome day of counting raptors. The day started off strong with some large movements of Turkey Vultures, most of which were spotted through the scope, far to the southeast. Each hour, with the exception of 4 o'clock to 5 o'clock, saw pretty steady numbers of birds moving north. Our first Ospreys of the season were spotted today. There weren't a lot of birds close to the summit. The westerly winds helped to keep birds at a, less than desirable viewing distance.

Non-raptor Observations:
The surrounding trees remained fairly quiet today. There was a good flight of passerines during the morning. More flocks of blackbirds continue to move through the area, along with Canada Geese and American Robins. During mid morning, off to the east, a group of 29 Snow Geese were spotted slowly making their way south, tracing the lay of the land and fighting against the wind. There were a couple other first of season arrivals, including an Eastern Phoebe and Belted Kingfisher. A few Tree Swallows were spotted reversing their migration route.

Predictions:
Cloud cover in the morning should be moving out during the day. Temps will probably be a little lower than today, in the low to mid 40's. Wind direction doesn't look great for migration, but wind speed should remain relatively light at about 10 mph. Winds may shift early, from north to mostly southeast, possibly pushing birds inland before reaching the mountain.

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Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (freeportwildbird@yahoo.com)
Bradbury Mountain State Park information may be found at: www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/bradbury-mountain-hawkwatch
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

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