[Maine-birds] Fw: Bradbury Mountain State Park (01 Apr 2022) 56 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park

Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 01, 2022
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	45	45	230
Osprey	4	4	5
Bald Eagle	0	0	60
Northern Harrier	7	7	22
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	0	30
Cooper's Hawk	0	0	17
Northern Goshawk	0	0	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	94
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	0	0	101
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	10
Merlin	0	0	4
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	3
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	1
Unknown Buteo	0	0	1
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	1
Total:	56	56	581

Observation start time:	11:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	4.58 hours
Official Counter	Derek Lovitch, Zane Baker
Observers:

Visitors:
1

Weather:
Today was one of those frustrating weather days, watching the radar trying to make the decision as to when to go up. Do you wait for all the rain to pass or do you put up with some rain and drizzle in the hopes you spot something during the brief dry periods? The morning was a washout but Derek made it up a little past noon. Winds were light and variable. Temps were very nice, in the low 50's. Visibility went from good to poor as drizzle turned to rain. By the time I took over at 2pm we had a short dry spell and visibility turned excellent. About 30 minutes later some heavier rain passed through, which lasted about an hour. The radar suggested the bulk of the rain would be wrapped up by the final hour, which was enough incentive to wait around. Rain eventually let up but a cool wind blowing from the north really picked up. Visibility during the final hour was spectacular. The skies overhead remained dark but the views were clear and unobstructed, to our west the sky had turned a beautiful golden yellow as rays of sun highlighted the edge of the storm.

Raptor Observations:
With the first dry gap in the rain Turkey Vultures took flight. Derek had trouble determining which if any were migrants or locals. A few made the list thankfully, breaking yesterdays total. I had a similar experience in the afternoon. As soon as the rain stopped for me it was the same story, first an Osprey banging into the back side of the wall of water, then it was about 45 TV's popping up in different locations. Some of them appeared to be our local crew. Finally the Harriers started to move. I think, given the exceptional clarity, two of the Harriers I counted were the two most distant identifications I've ever made.

Non-raptor Observations:
Not a lot happed in the non raptor category, although I did get our first Belted Kingfisher of the season.

Predictions:
I'll take a stab at getting this wrong yet again. It's looking like sunny skies and temps in the mid 40's. A pleasant day generally. The trouble appears to be some high winds from the northwest possibly gusting into the 30's.

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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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