[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (26 Mar 2022) 61 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 26, 2022
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	30	169	169
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	4	58	58
Northern Harrier	0	13	13
Sharp-shinned Hawk	5	29	29
Cooper's Hawk	2	17	17
Northern Goshawk	1	2	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	3	92	92
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	15	100	100
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	1	9	9
Merlin	0	4	4
Peregrine Falcon	0	3	3
Unknown Accipiter	0	1	1
Unknown Buteo	0	1	1
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	1	1
Total:	61	499	499

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

Visitors:
A beautiful day falling on a Saturday brought a lot of people to the park. People came and went in droves, at one point 41 people were standing on the summit. 30 people stopped by the count area. Among them some very excited inquisitive young birders, eager to share their bird knowledge. It was excited to see them so excited. Word on the street is Peregrines are pretty fast. Thanks to all the extra eyes today, that was helpful.

Weather:
Lots of blue sky in the morning disappeared above a solid layer of clouds by the end of the count. Temps were very comfortable, climbing into the low 50's. Winds were a little variable but light, switching between mostly west southwest and south. Visibility was not great due to the morning sun and heat distortion but after the clouds moved in the clarity returned.

Raptor Observations:
An ok mix of birds but a lower total than I might have guessed. Turkey Vultures made a push today and I feel we may have missed some due to poor spotting conditions in the morning hours. Many TV's were at the detection limit and I have a hunch there were probably more just out of reach. Eagles were a majestic nuisance yet again. A group of 4-7 continued to be spotted throughout the count stooping and chasing one another, talons out. A couple of them eventually made it on the board as they moved on to the north. Birds were scattered all about today, without any pattern or flight lines developing. Birds were high, low and far. Once the clouds packed in the flight really came to a halt in early afternoon. With about 90 minutes left in the count I spotted a heavily built looking bird behind tree tips, to our northwest. I was about to call it a 'tail as it began to disappear but it started to lift and look more Accipiter like. It was a Northern Goshawk. The bird circled over the summit for a minute or two and even with the cloud cover it was able to gain a substantial amount of lift as it drifted to the north.

Non-raptor Observations:
The morning flights seemed busy and I thought it would persist for longer. The big movers of the day were: 1553 Common Grackles 426 Canada Geese We had a couple First Of Year (FOY) birds including: 10 Tree Swallows 2 Great Blue Herons

Predictions:
Looks like another decent day tomorrow with a slight possibility of some pop-up showers in the afternoon. Light westerly winds may shift more northwest later in the day. Temps should be comfortable, in the 40's. Potentially good conditions for a good flight. I wouldn't mind a few more birds than we saw today and we'll find out soon enough.

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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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