Date: 3/7/26 5:59 pm From: Thomas Filip <thomasfilip0660...> Subject: Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch (07 Mar 2026) 53 Raptors
*Tussey Mountain Hawk WatchState College, Pennsylvania, USADaily Raptor Counts: Mar 07, 2026SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason TotalBlack Vulture000 Turkey Vulture0122 Osprey000 Bald Eagle4811 Northern Harrier001 Sharp-shinned Hawk5710 Cooper's Hawk566 American Goshawk000 Red-shouldered Hawk345 Broad-winged Hawk000 Red-tailed Hawk81117 Rough-legged Hawk000 Golden Eagle273140 American Kestrel000 Merlin111 Peregrine Falcon000 Unknown Accipitrine002 Unknown Buteo000 Unknown Falcon000 Unknown Eagle001 Unknown Raptor000 Total:5369116Observation start time: 13:00:00 Observation end time: 18:00:00 Total observation time: 4.67 hoursOfficial CounterNick Bolgiano, Thomas FilipObservers: Joe Gyekis, Ken Bowman, Nick Bolgiano, Peggy Wagoner, Tom FilipVisitors:Lou Saporito, Elody Gyekis, Loanne Snavely, Justin Nichol, and Angelena MinardiWeather:Finally, after 4 days of no count, we were able to get a few hours in today. Heavy fog all morning that started to clear after 13:00 at which point the count began. Consistent S winds at 13-16mph in the afternoon. We started to see the rain clouds rolling in after 17:00 and it started to rain at 17:45 as we were walking back.Raptor Observations:27 GOEA spotted today. 25 adults, 1 juvenile at 13:56, and 1 unknown at 15:28, all on the south side of the ridge.*
*After bad conditions held them back since Tuesday, the eagles were eager to start flying soon after the fog cleared up. Our first GOEA of the day, a juvenile, came through at 13:56. 2 more followed shortly after and then we had about a 40 minute break until the next one at 14:59. After this we got one every few minutes until the last one at 17:13. A few of the early eagles were far out on the south but almost all were closer to the ridge, initially flying NE low over the ridge top until they spotted us and diverted slightly to fly along the south side of the ridge.*
