[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (02 Apr 2023) 7 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 02, 2023
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	0	310
Osprey	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	1	1	38
Northern Harrier	4	4	28
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	0	20
Cooper's Hawk	0	0	11
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	33
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	0	0	51
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	2	2	10
Merlin	0	0	7
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	2
Unknown Accipiter	0	0	2
Unknown Buteo	0	0	0
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	2
Total:	7	8	514

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

Visitors:
A busier day in the park with 59 visitors. There were a couple sequential and similar Common Loon questions which felt like deja vu all over again.

Weather:
It was pretty windy with strong gusts today but the summit was a little sheltered from the NW direction. The winds in the area were being reported at a level we weren't really feeling on the mountain. The afternoon had a few periods of calm mixed with strong gusts. The skies were blue for the duration of the count but visibility was a little distorted from the heat radiating off the ground. Temps were just under 40.

Raptor Observations:
We finished a little better than the previous windy day but still far short of another triple digit total. With the strong winds likely shearing off any thermals, most birds were seen flying pretty low if not below the height of the summit. Harriers all took the same flight path tracing the ridge of Little Bradbury to the SE and E. An immature Eagle provided beautiful views as it approached the summit just below and in front of us this morning. Late afternoon was pretty quiet

Non-raptor Observations:
Robins and Blackbirds were holding out in many of the yards and fields I passed on my way to the mountain today but not many took to the skies. A few Tree Swallows were seen moving south. Birds moving north today include: 9 Double Crested Cormorants 8 Canada Geese 2 Common Mergansers 1 American Robin

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks like a repeat of today but now were going to try a southerly wind. Will the birds use that strong of a tailwind? They have a few times in the past. I hope it remains more SW than S so we don't miss birds being pushed inland before reaching Bradbury.

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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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