[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (09 May 2019) 49 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: May 09, 2019
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	573
Osprey	6	41	425
Bald Eagle	0	6	78
Northern Harrier	3	9	148
Sharp-shinned Hawk	7	96	614
Cooper's Hawk	1	8	70
Northern Goshawk	0	0	3
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	1	98
Broad-winged Hawk	15	152	3036
Red-tailed Hawk	4	7	192
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	2
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	9	49	487
Merlin	2	20	81
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	2	6	20
Total:	49	402	5851

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

Visitors:
A total of 9 visitors today.

Weather:
The morning hours were very pleasant. Temps were just shy of 60 degrees. The cloud cover held off until later in the afternoon, so along with calm winds and abundant sun it felt fairly warm at the summit for a change. At 1:46pm the wind shifted to the SE and increased in force. The sea breeze was persistant for the rest of the day and really started to cool things down, at the same time, clouds rolled in from the NW, blocking the sun. Heat distortion was an issue today.

Raptor Observations:
Another haphazard day of migration. Birds were trickling through in ones and twos. There were a lot of distant birds again today, although we did get two Harriers passing by close to the summit at eye level, which never gets old. Local Broadwings remained active today, helping to push other migrants out of the area. A few of the birds today were immature, including a couple Broadwings and Red-tails, but certainly not the volume we've been waiting for. Two Osprey, both carrying fish, started showing off their catch to one another, maybe as part of pair bonding. The birds would swoop down, pull up in a hover and push the fish out ahead of their bodies, and then do it all again.

Non-raptor Observations:
The morning was fairly active at the summit but quieted down quickly. Our first for the season Black-throated Blue Warbler was singing and perched briefly out in the open. A few other warblers followed suit. Pine Warblers and Blue Headed Vireos were seen collecting nest material. There weren't too many non raptor migrants today, but Blue Jays came through in small flocks, totaling 36 in all. For much of the day the, Blue Jays were very active at the summit, making numerous different vocalizations. 36 species were seen or heard today.

Predictions:
There is quite a bit of rain on its way for tomorrow, becoming heavy at times. It's questionable if we'll even get underway at all. Rain is predicted to start in the earlier morning hours and last for most of the day. Winds should be strong and chilly from the SSE. Temps may not break out of the 40s. We can only hope this forecast changes as the next day's count approaches.

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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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