Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5.75 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Christine Restell, Cindy Rost, Janet Kovner, Paul Vanderhoof, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: Guesstimate of 400-500 holiday weekend sightseers, including the Worcester Railers professional hockey team (ECHL).
Weather: Sunny to partly cloudy skies with temps rising from 52F to 70F. Winds were from the W to NW averaging about 8 mph, but with occasional gusts to 12-16 mph. The air was quite clear with all of the normal landmarks visible as well as the VT mountains and mid-NH mountains.
Raptor Observations: Thanks to the observers who joined me today - Janet Kovner, Christine Restell, Tom Gottschang, Cindy Rost and Paul Vanderhoof - for both their eyes and for their conversation.
The migrating raptor count picked up slightly to 7 birds, including the first Amer Kestrel of the season.
The non-migrating raptors were quite active today. The two dueling Turkey Vultures (juv?) were at it again today, and two other TVs had to make violent dives to escape the wrath of a local Sharpie. Five Bald Eagles of various ages commanded our attention at various times today as they soared high on solid winds, and we had to follow them for long periods to see of any of them were migrating - they weren't. Non-migrating: TV - 5 (minimum number) Osprey - 1 Bald Eagle - 5 (2 Ad, 1 Sub-Ad, 2 Juv) Cooper's Hawk - 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1 (an ornery cuss) Broad-winged Hawk - 3 (minimum number. 1 Ad, 2 Juv) Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 Red-tailed Hawk - 4 (minimum number. 3 Ad, 1 Juv)
Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors: MODO - 1 (minimum number. Multiple passes over the summit) Tree Swallow - 5 Chimney Swift - 6 RT Hummingbird - 1 Comm Raven - 2 Cedar WW - 2 Gr Catbird - 1 E Towhee - 1
Predictions: We hope for even better numbers tomorrow with another sunny day featuring temps in the upper 60's and low 70's, and winds from the NNW to N at 5-7 mph. This should allow the birds to use both thermals and the wind for uplift. There's also evidence of birds in the pipeline for the first time with the Clarry Hill (ME) hawk watch site reporting 35 birds including 17 Broad-wings passing through there today. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
