A good flight Sunday night produced some new arrivals for Monday morning, and a great flight Monday night produced a slug of new arrivals for Tuesday. A quick visit to Hedgehog Mountain Park on Monday produced my first Ovenbird of the season, as well as a very noticeable increase in Black-and-white and Black-throated Green Warblers, and White-throated Sparrows. Later in the morning, a Gray Catbird arrived at our store’s feeding station, and immediately began to work on the grape jelly offering.

Tuesday morning, Jeannette and I began the day at Florida Lake Park, where we were treated to 10 species of warblers, including “FOY’s” Nashville, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow, and Prairie (my first of this species at this park). A calling Least Flycatcher greeted us when we returned home, also a first-of-year sighting.

Then, it was up to “The Brad.” And, boy, was I excited. Southwest winds, very warm air, and a thin layer of high cirrus wisps to help spot birds high overhead. I really believe that the count – although winding down – still has one big day left in it (led by a pulse of immature Broad-winged Hawks, perhaps) and I was sure yesterday was going to be the day!

I all but ran up the mountain, set up the count site (sign, table, scope, etc), and began to scan. And scan some more, and scan some more. I waited. Then, I waited some more. Finally, small groups of Broad-wings (4) rose up from the trees and moved out, heading due north. OK, here we go! So I waited some more.

The weather was right – and heck, you don’t get too many days of hawkwatching in Maine in shorts and a t-shirt! – but the birds were not to be found. When Jeannette left the site at 5:00, we had tallied only 29 raptors – not exactly that big flight we were hoping for! I did, however, finally see the local pair of Northern Goshawks. In fact, I saw them very well on multiple occasions, as the pair was very active during the day. The male made a couple of relatively close passes, and at one point took a run at a displaying male Cooper’s Hawk! The local pair of Red-shouldered Hawks also put on a good show. What could have been my best bird of the day, however, was a distant – and backlit silhouette – of what I think was an Upland Sandpiper (that would have made a great addition to the count’s list!). But, I guess I’ll never know.

Back to the hawks now . . . .So, what went “wrong” yesterday. The conditions were right, and it is still early May. Did the birds all just fly so high yesterday, that they passed over me completely undetected? That’s always a possibility. Is that last big push yet to come? Maybe – the conditions will be great for the next few days. Have they passed us all by already? Perhaps. But, with our count only slightly over 2,000 with 11 days left in the project, my goal of 3,000 birds seems a long way off! We’ll just have to see what the next few days bring.

Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch Week 7 Update:

After 288 raptors – 228 of which were Broad-winged Hawks – passed on 5/1, only a small trickle of birds were observed for the next few days on persistent northwest winds. However, a Broad-winged Hawk on 5/6, was our 2,000th bird of the season! A switch to southwesterly winds for Monday produced.

The following totals are for Week 7 (Tuesday, May 1 through Monday, May 7). 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: 48, 267
Bald Eagle: 3, 35
Northern Harrier: 7, 44
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 53, 378
Cooper’s Hawk: 1, 23
Northern Goshawk: 0, 4
Red-shouldered Hawk: 1, 28
Broad-winged Hawk: 275, 765
Red-tailed Hawk: 2, 176
Rough-legged Hawk: 0, 3
American Kestrel: 11, 172
Merlin: 2, 20
Peregrine Falcon: 0, 1
Unidentified: 3, 16

Total Week 7: 406
Total, Season to Date: 2,003

Now, I am off to Jersey – WHAT have I gotten myself into!?