[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (12 May 2019) 10 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: May 12, 2019
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	573
Osprey	2	48	432
Bald Eagle	0	6	78
Northern Harrier	1	12	151
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	100	618
Cooper's Hawk	0	8	70
Northern Goshawk	0	0	3
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	1	98
Broad-winged Hawk	2	154	3038
Red-tailed Hawk	0	7	192
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	3	53	491
Merlin	2	23	84
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	3
Unknown Accipiter	0	2	5
Unknown Buteo	0	3	9
Unknown Falcon	0	1	7
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	7	21
Total:	10	426	5875

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Dave Fensore, Mathew Gilbert

Visitors:
This Mother's Day brought 53 visitors to the watch. Many more were passing through and picnicking.

Weather:
Skies remained evenly overcast for the entire day. Morning winds were pretty calm with a light breeze coming from an easterly direction. In the afternoon wind speed increased a little and shifted to the SSE, bringing in some cool ocean air. Temperatures struggled to climb today and reached a high of about 55 degrees. Visibility in the morning was excellent and remained very good for most of the day.

Raptor Observations:
It was another eerily quiet day at the summit and not just for raptors. The morning was definitely the most active period, when more of the local birds were out displaying and foraging. A total of about 6 BW's kept moving back and forth, displaying and chasing each other in front of the mountain. By the afternoon the skies became almost completely empty. It was a challenge to find a bird of any kind at times. Occasionally we'd catch a gimps of the local 'Tail or a passing Eagle. There were not many birds flying close to the summit today, with a couple migrants at least a few miles away.

Non-raptor Observations:
Passerines followed a similar pattern of activity as the raptors, being most active during the first hour or two of the day and then disappearing from sight and earshot. There were a total of 37 species detected from the summit, including a first of the season Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a Lincoln's Sparrow which shared spot at the table with Hawkwatch Junco. Northbound birds included: 13 Tree Swallows 7 American Goldfinches 4 Double-crested Cormorants 5 Chimney Swifts 1 Barn Swallow

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks like a little more of the same. Winds are predicted to be from the East for most of the day at about 10-12 mph. Skies may be mostly cloudy and temperatures will be on the low side for the time of year, around 50 degrees. More rain is predicted to be moving in for Monday evening. The final days of the count are looking a little gloomy unfortunately. The weather has not been cooperating in a propitious manner for northbound migrants. But, we're still in the fight and tomorrow is another day. See you at the summit.

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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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