[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (19 Apr 2018) 100 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park

Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 19, 2018
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	358	562
Osprey	8	141	141
Bald Eagle	0	15	70
Northern Harrier	5	47	50
Sharp-shinned Hawk	17	152	173
Cooper's Hawk	1	30	51
Northern Goshawk	1	2	5
Red-shouldered Hawk	2	26	72
Broad-winged Hawk	64	169	169
Red-tailed Hawk	1	70	173
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	1	52	61
Merlin	0	14	17
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Accipiter	0	4	5
Unknown Buteo	0	1	2
Unknown Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	5	7
Total:	100	1088	1560

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

Visitors:
20 visitors today.

Weather:
Much to my surprise, not a single minute was lost as a result of poor weather today. The heavy rain just skipped by. Occasional raindrops were enough to justify some light rain gear, but it only lasted for brief moments. The sky was cloudy all day with a mix of cloud species, which were different shades of grey, blue and orange. Winds from the WSW remained extremely light until the final two hours, when it shifted to more SSE, bringing with it some slightly cooler air.

Raptor Observations:
During the early afternoon, I was scanning the skies trying to think of anything about the day worth mentioning for the report, when a Goshawk appeared overhead to the NW. The bird was an adult, with some significant molting apparent. Both wings were missing multiple secondary feathers. The bird circled relatively low over the summit for a good two minutes, before slowly heading to the NE. I took advantage of the opportunity, and enjoyed the sight of this secretive Accipiter.

Non-raptor Observations:
33 species were seen or heard today, including the first of season White-throated Sparrow. Numbers remain low on northbound birds. Today's list includeds: 19 Double-crested Cormorants 7 Breat Blue Herons 5 Tree Swallows 5 American Goldfinches 1 Common Loon 1 Red-winged Blackbird

Predictions:
Tomorrow, we will hopefully see a little more sun than today, but it will likely be mostly cloudy. Temps should climb to the high 40's or low 50's. Winds could be strong, and coming from the NW, somewhere in the range of 12-18 mph. If birds are moving, the wind direction should help keep some of them out in front of the mountain for us.

---

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]

---