Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (12 Apr 2017) 186 Raptors

[Derek Lovitch]

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 12, 2017
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	1	1
Turkey Vulture	6	250	510
Osprey	21	174	174
Bald Eagle	1	23	58
Northern Harrier	13	138	142
Sharp-shinned Hawk	19	254	266
Cooper's Hawk	1	33	41
Northern Goshawk	1	4	6
Red-shouldered Hawk	2	68	116
Broad-winged Hawk	84	170	170
Red-tailed Hawk	4	74	136
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	31	305	306
Merlin	3	23	24
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	2
Unknown Accipiter	0	3	3
Unknown Buteo	0	1	2
Unknown Falcon	0	1	1
Unknown Eagle	0	1	1
Unknown Raptor	0	8	12
Total:	186	1532	1971

Observation start time:	07:00:00
Observation end time:	14:00:00
Total observation time:	6.25 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Dave Gulick, Katrina Fenton, Mike Chace

Visitors:
10 people visited the hawkwatch, plus a few others who could be heard scampering through the forest.

Weather:
Today's weather during the morning hours was better than anticipated. The cold front which was expected to move in overnight stalled in the mountains, unleashing the rain we thought we could see earlier today. Instead, the count started with temps in the low 50's and a light east-southeast breeze. There was a noticeable haze and a relatively low cloud ceiling with some breaks of blue sky. The count was cut short today, as a light drizzle turned into steady rainfall.

Raptor Observations:
A few Turkey Vultures managed to convince us they were migrating north, just before we officially stop counting them, on the 15th. By mid morning, Broad-wings started to make a little push. Small kettles formed as birds tried gaining lift. I believe we do have a local Goshawk on territory near the mountain. The bird was seen early on displaying for a few minutes before disappearing low, below tree line. Later in the day, an immature Goshawk was seen moving through at the same time the local bird was seen again, soaring to the east.

Non-raptor Observations:
There was not a large flight of Passerines this morning. A couple of birds here and there littered the sky. Four Great Blue Herons passed by the summit below the horizon line, providing a nice view of the upper side of the birds. A handful of warbler shaped silhouettes zipped by the mountain in the early morning light, making it difficult to discern the species. A total of 38 species were seen or heard today. Around noon time, a large evergreen could be heard toppling over the edge of the mountain in the woods. Indeed, they do make a noise, at least when someone is present.

Predictions:
Tomorrow should bring seasonable temperatures around 50 degrees with partly to mostly sunny skies. Winds should be out of the northwest at about 10-20mph, with occasional gusts. If wind speeds stay on the lighter side early on, we might see a decent flight during the morning hours.

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Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (freeport...@yahoo.com)
Bradbury Mountain State Park information may be found at: www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/hawkwatch.asp