[Maine-birds] Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (29 Apr 2024) 51 Raptors

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 29, 2024
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	355	628
Osprey	8	389	390
Bald Eagle	5	25	47
Northern Harrier	1	126	138
Sharp-shinned Hawk	10	368	386
Cooper's Hawk	2	18	30
American Goshawk	0	1	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	8	30
Broad-winged Hawk	22	1208	1208
Red-tailed Hawk	1	20	50
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	2	294	294
Merlin	0	39	45
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	2
Unknown Accipiter	0	9	9
Unknown Buteo	0	4	4
Unknown Falcon	0	10	11
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	14	14
Total:	51	2889	3287

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, Derek Lovitch, Jeannette Lovitch, Jim Pinfold

Visitors:
23 visitors today.

Weather:
Today was absolutely gorgeous, in my opinion. Temps were in the upper 60's and the morning's NNW winds which were a little gusty at first died down or were very well blocked by the trees at the summit. The sky was perfect for spotting with a high and thin cloud ceiling. The sun was reaching us directly for most of the day. Visibility was good but with heat shimmer.

Raptor Observations:
Not a terrible day by any means but it was one of those counting days vs watching. Most birds were high and far, with only a couple close to the summit. Eagles were on the move today and remained very high overhead as they steadily moved NNE. A chase between a couple resident Bald Eagles was very entertaining, with both birds side by side coming towards us, the left bird did a Top Gun stunt and rolled completely upside down under the righthand bird and in a full barrel roll repositioned itself on the other side, now becoming the right most bird. To our S today we had some unexpected rain moving NW to SE which was right in southern Maine. It was a long band which appeared to box us out from the eastern flyway. Shortly after the time when we could see the dark clouds stretch out past the coast, the flight really shut down. Had the rain been moving SW to NE maybe we would have had birds in front but this looked like a Do Not Cross yellow tape police line, which ended the migration for the day.

Non-raptor Observations:
Northbound birds were a little hard to find but we did get a few more firsts for the season, which include: Bank Swallow Chipping Sparrow Chimney Swift

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks like it could be frustrating at times with the potential for some light showers passing through. Winds should be light and starting out from the NE but shifting SE in the afternoon. Temps drop tonight and throughout tomorrow, only getting into the mid 40's. I'm hoping the rain is more helpful than a hindrance tomorrow.

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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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