Fwd: Bradbury Mountain State Park (10 Apr 2022) 50 Raptors

[Derek Lovitch]

Bradbury Mountain State Park
Pownal, Maine, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 10, 2022
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	0	241	426
Osprey	22	49	50
Bald Eagle	2	9	69
Northern Harrier	6	33	48
Sharp-shinned Hawk	13	49	79
Cooper's Hawk	1	7	24
Northern Goshawk	1	1	3
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	12	106
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	1	19	120
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	2	35	45
Merlin	1	3	7
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	3
Unknown Accipiter	0	2	3
Unknown Buteo	0	1	2
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	1	1	2
Total:	50	462	987

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Zane Baker
Observers:	Derek Lovitch, Jim Pinfold, Mathew Gilbert, Pablo DaCosta

Visitors:
35 visitors today. Lots of eyes on the sky, so I don't think we missed much. It was great to see some more young birders taking an interest. Shout out to Cole and Pablo and also Matthew, but he's been bought in for a while. Thank you all for the help.

Weather:
It was a partly sunny day with highs in the low 50's. The wind was blowing from the northeast which was much stronger than predicted. There were brief periods of calm but usually not for long. Visibility was very good overall.

Raptor Observations:
Not quite the day I was anticipating but not a bad day. The winds were pushing birds of all sizes around, even Eagles were getting smacked as if they wandered into a screen door. Birds remained pretty low but unfortunately they were mostly far away which was a bit disappointing for viewers. The closest bird of the day was a surprise Sharpy which appeared suddenly and briefly right at the summit. A fast handed photographer was somehow able to get a fantastic picture of the bird in the limited seconds it was visible. Derek spotted a shadowy mystery bird in the afternoon as it disappeared behind the trees surrounding the summit. Birders scrambled in all directions in an attempt to catch sight of the bird through clearings among the branches. It was a Northern Goshawk

Non-raptor Observations:
Low numbers on the species list; 23 in total. We did have a first of season sighting of a Barn Swallow. Other migrants include: 19 American Robins 7 Tree Swallows 5 Canada Geese 1 Barn Swallow 1 Belted Kingfisher

Predictions:
There may be some residual winds from the NW in the am. Winds should be switching around to a more SW direction in the early afternoon. Clouds ought to be minimal with bright sun and temps in the 50's. Looks like a good day. If winds are light and thermals are able to build, it could be tough spotting conditions as birds can disappear into the blue without clouds to provide contrast and depth of field for our eyes.

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Report submitted by Jeannette Lovitch (freeport...@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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