Bradbury Mountain State ParkPownal, Maine, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: May 02, 2018 |
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 564 |
| Osprey | 9 | 25 | 300 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 1 | 76 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 79 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 31 | 52 | 394 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 2 | 6 | 75 |
| Northern Goshawk | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 1 | 77 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 164 | 282 | 1510 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 3 | 187 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 24 | 39 | 281 |
| Merlin | 1 | 5 | 41 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Unknown Buteo | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 6 | 8 | 23 |
| Total: | 242 | 426 | 3632 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 18:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Derek Lovitch, Zane Baker |
| Observers: | Anne Gainey, Cindy Elias, Dave Fensore, Derek Lovitch, Erin Gainey |
Visitors:27 people stopped by the watch today.
Weather:I certainly wouldn't mind a few more days of weather similar to today. The day started out warm, and continued to get warmer, until it hit a peak of 86 degrees Fahrenheit. I should mention our thermometer is set back in the shade. Clouds offered little cover from the sun beating down, but you weren't hearing any complaints about it.Winds were more westerly than the predicted SW. Wind speeds ranged from being relatively calm, to gusting into the mid to high teens. High, thin clouds allowed for more contrast when looking for birds, which were tiny specs high overhead for most of the day. Thermal production must have been pretty good, considering some birds were on the verge of being undetectable even when viewed through a spotting scope. It was a little bit of a neck cramping, yet super fun day.
Raptor Observations:Another good day of counting raptors, well into the triple digit range. Birds came through in pretty even waves, with a slight uptick just past noon. Small kettles formed from time to time, usually no more than 12 birds at a time. No consistent flight-lines developed, but the majority of birds were detected overhead or high out in front of, or slightly behind the mountain, to the NW. During the afternoon, when wind speeds from the W were a little stronger birds could be seen quartering into the wind, almost flying sideways. Derek took over for the after hours count period, with the help of Dave Fensore. I was able to stay just long enough to put one blemish under Derek's collection period; one more Unidentified Raptor. Sorry
Non-raptor Observations:It was a fairly exciting day atop The Brad. At around 10:50 EST, 1 Sandhill Crane was spotted gaining elevation over the town of Pownal. Later, at 11:50 EST, 2 more Sandhills were spotted flying off to the N, beyond the Mountain. 2:30 pm saw the arrival and retreat of 6 Glossy Ibis. Later in the afternoon Derek picked out 2 Purple Martins, possibly heading north to the nest boxes which he helped establish. We had a couple more new arrivals today as well, which were a couple of Chimney Swifts, and a Bank Swallow. Other birds, of the mechanical kind included: 1 UH-60 Blackhawk 2 F/A 18 Hornets
Predictions:Despite a little bit of rain coming in, tomorrow doesn't look too bad. Light SW winds should kick off the day, maybe switching to more S, or SSE by the afternoon. Temps should be pretty warm, but not quite as hot as today. The chance of rain increases as the afternoon progresses, along with the potential for some thunderstorms.
Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (
freeportwildbird@yahoo.com)
Bradbury Mountain State Park information may be found at:
www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/bradbury-mountain-hawkwatchMore information at
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