[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (11 Apr 2019) 134 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 11, 2019
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	28	132	472
Osprey	30	48	49
Bald Eagle	4	16	61
Northern Harrier	15	30	36
Sharp-shinned Hawk	26	59	74
Cooper's Hawk	3	17	36
Northern Goshawk	1	1	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	2	12	65
Broad-winged Hawk	1	1	1
Red-tailed Hawk	4	27	121
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	13	29	55
Merlin	5	7	12
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	2
Unknown Accipiter	1	2	3
Unknown Buteo	1	2	4
Unknown Falcon	0	1	3
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	1	2
Total:	134	386	1000

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	17:00:00
Total observation time:	8.25 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Dave Fensore, Katrina Fenton, Levi Burford

Visitors:
I was pleased to have a few people helping me today, including my friend and mentor Katrina Fenton. I first started learning about raptor ID from Katrina from 2012-2014, and having her back to help out at her old stomping grounds I continue to gain knowledge and insights. Today was a really fun day down memory lane. 29 people came by today, including a group of 20 from the Waldorf school.

Weather:
Today turned into a very nice day to be on the summit searching for birds. Northerly winds remained much lighter than anticipated with periods of still air. Temperatures climbed into the mid to high 40s, and with abundant sunshine there were times I felt overdressed. Skies remained quite clear for most of the day, with a brief period in the early afternoon when a few scattered, high and thin clouds moved through, providing a great contrast for distant birds.

Raptor Observations:
We finally passed the triple digit mark for a daily count. Although we didn't totally crush our previous high count it felt pretty good to be over 100. Birds were on the move starting pretty early, and each passing hour seemed to improve. There was a terrific diversity of species today, and we filled the board with the exception of Peregrines or Rough-leggeds. If you're paying close attention, you may have deduced, that means we have started to see our first Broad-wings. Well, we had 1 to be exact, but a BW nonetheless. Birds were a little spread out today with maybe a couple flight lines developing. Birds were certainly getting plenty of lift from thermals, as a few Osprey, Eagles, and Turkey Vultures were passing by high above. There weren't a whole lot of close birds for onlookers to see with the naked eye, but there were a couple of decent photo opportunities as close TVs or Kestrels passed by.

Non-raptor Observations:
The species list is still on the low side with 25 birds, and the same goes for northbound migrants whos list is embarrassingly small. Most northbound birds today were Double-crested Cormorants with a grand total of 81. The highlight came this morning when a young student asked what was flying around over little Bradubury. With his naked eye he had spotted 5 Sandhill Cranes circling together as they slowly drifted off to the north.

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks to be a little more overcast, but with air temps similar to today. Winds appear to be starting off from the north and quickly shifting to more SE and straight S. Wind speeds are predicted to be light, lets hope they stay that way. There is some wet weather approaching for Friday night, which could potentially have birds moving out ahead of it.

---

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]

---