I was definitely looking forward to spending (most of) the day up at the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch today. Having missed all of the excitement of some great flights last week, I wanted to see some birds! I wasn’t overly optimistic however, as a northwest wind – not usually great for a good hawk flight over The Brad – was being predicted. But, since the weather was something other than rain and northeast winds, I was expected there to be at least some birds on the move. What I didn’t expect was our largest flight of the season (so far)!

When I arrived at 9am, the winds were light out of the west-northwest. Although they were picking up a bit already - and shortly shifting to the NW - I soon spotted a few Broad-winged Hawks high overhead. Then, the floodgates opened. By 10:00, I had tallied 157 raptors – 134 of which were Broad-winged Hawks. I also think I missed many more, and I was very conservative in my counting. Because I was on the hill alone (Jeannette was giving a program to the Yarmouth Village Improvement Society this morning), I had to take my eye off soaring birds. Small kettles, and a smattering of gliding birds, were scattered around the sky. As I tallied a group to the west, I would spot a group to my east. Counting them, I would then turn back to the west, with another group now “breaking kettle.” A few minutes later, turning back to the east, I would spot another larger, and higher, kettle of Broad-wings. Were some of these the same birds that I had just tallied? Normally, with others on the watch, we would keep track of what group of birds was moving where. In lieu of that, I took the conservative approach, and only counted the birds that I was relatively sure were “new.” I wonder how many I undercounted, and how many were passing high overhead – too high for me to see. I was surprised at how high the birds were getting already, despite the cool winds. That May sun was producing quite a bit of heat!

Then, at around 9:50, things slowed down as quickly as they had sped up. Although the next hour was far from slow, the pace during the 11am to 2pm period was pretty slow. I had to really “work” for birds. Birds were often fairly distant, and pretty high, but that pattern would occasionally be broken by a Sharp-shinned Hawk streaking right overhead. Jeannette came up at 2:00, and after having just tallied the day’s count so far, I realized we were only 1 bird away from the highest count of the season (250). Within 10 minutes, 3 more Broad-wings passed. I headed down the hill with 252 raptors being tallied (Jeannette finished the great day at 288).

In addition to the great hawk flight, other migrants were on the move as well. The most exciting of which, by far, was a Sandhill Crane that I spotted soaring to the SW of the mountain at about 10:14am. It soon began to glide, passing the count site at 10:16, heading to the NNE. What a sight! Two non-birders were present to witness the excitement, but this is actually the second Sandhill that I have seen from a top The Brad (the other was two springs ago). With a few pairs – or more – now nesting in Maine, this may become a more regular event!

The other migrants were:
Small numbers of Tree Swallows, Common Grackles, and Brown-headed Cowbirds.
42 Double-crested Cormorants
12 Yellow-rumped Warblers
8 Unidentified Warblers
4 Palm Warblers
2 Chimney Swifts (my first of spring, in Maine anyway)
2 Barn Swallows

Meanwhile, here’s the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, Week 6 Update:

It was a productive start to week 6, with a good number of birds on Thursday 4/24 (221 birds, including 153 Broad-winged Hawks) that accounted for over half of this week’s total. Rain, mist, and/or fog hampered visibility and count hours on Thursday (3 hrs), Sunday (3.5 hrs), and Monday (0 hrs). However, as soon as the mess clears, we should get another substantive push of birds (immature Broad-winged Hawks, for example, have not really arrived yet).

The following totals are for Week 6 (Tuesday, April 24 through Monday, April 30). The First number is this week’s tally, the second number is the season-to-date total.

BLACK VULTURE: 0, 1
Turkey Vulture: 0, 70
Osprey: 23, 219
Bald Eagle: 1, 32
Northern Harrier: 1, 37
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 65, 325
Cooper’s Hawk: 1, 22
Northern Goshawk: 0, 4
Red-shouldered Hawk: 0, 27
Broad-winged Hawk: 290, 490
Red-tailed Hawk: 1, 174
Rough-legged Hawk: 0, 3
American Kestrel: 24, 161
Merlin: 3, 18
Peregrine Falcon: 0, 1
Unidentified: 2, 13

Total Week 6: 411
Total, Season to Date: 1597