Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Bill Rasku
Observers: Cindy Rost, Marty McNamara, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: Many thanks to Tom and Cindy for hanging in through the heavy wind and finally getting rewarded with a big group of TVs. Thanks to Marty for making the trip up. (Eric's note - and thanks to Bill for enduring all of this. He said that he was ready to stop counting migrating oak leaves and head home, but in the early afternoon the wind dropped, so he stayed 2-1/2 more hours and doubled the day's count.)
Other visitors included the St Paul girls soccer team.
Weather: Surprisingly high wind in the morning - NNE wind at 15 mph, gusting to 25 until around noon when the gusts dropped to 18 mph. By 2 pm, the wind speed dropped to 7-8 mph with gusts around 10 for the rest of the afternoon. Skies were almost completely clear all day, and visibility was very good. The little bit of cloud cover in evidence was all thin cirrus clouds to the SE that advanced and retreated a bit. Temps ranged from 54 to 59 F. Raptor Observations: TVs again dominated the count and came primarily in 2 clumps: one in the 12:00 to 1:00 pm EST hour, and the other in the 3:00 to 4:00 pm hour. Cindy spotted a group of 37 TVs in the first instance, and Bill got rewarded for staying late by 46 TVs (groups of 7, 28 and 8) in the final hour. Cindy also spotted our 2nd Rough-legged Hawk of the year with Bill confirming the ID. Only 1 Bald Eagle took advantage of the strong winds.
Non-migrating raptors: TV-4, Bald Eagle-1 adult, Red-tail-3. The Red-tails were up and down all day, dealing with the strong wind in the morning and then sparring with the Ravens in the afternoon.
In celebration of our 50th anniversary year on Wachusett, here's a look back at events on this date in previous years: In 1991, the 12th largest daily Red-shoulder Hawk count (15) in Wachusett Mt history, tied with 4 other dates
In 2017, Rod Chase wrote: "Many pleasant people visiting the deck, as usual. Many happy, many disappointed with current foliage. Come to think of it: hawk watchers split on that issue too." Observers: Bill Rasku, Rod Chase, Bill LaFleche, Susan Williamson, Ted Mara, Marty McNamara, John and Alisha Sisk, Susan Wrisley, Steve Bennett
In 2018, Rod Chase wrote: "Total time 9:30 am to 2 pm. Overcast and fierce wind SW 15mph/24kph gusts to 30mph/48kph. 11:04 Osprey, 11:18 SS, 11:25 TV, 11:31 5 TV Seems they all decided to leave when the wind decreased. The day's flight (all) in 27 minutes." "Observer & compiler: Bill Rasku ('Had some time so I thought I'd see if my help was needed.') It was. Thanks Mr. October."
In 2021, Eric Mueller wrote: "A depressingly slow start to the day, with the only raptor seen in the first two hours a local Red-tail, and only 8 migrants total by 1 pm EST." "...then to make the day a winner, our first Golden Eagle of the year. A big Golden star to Marty McNamara for locating the bird which he originally thought was a plane because it was such a rock steady flyer. And another Golden star to Rod Chase for recognizing that this somewhat distant big bird was somehow different than a Bald Eagle (a bit of wing dihedral), and tracking it on his scope for over 10 minutes at up to 60x power until it turned a few times in better light to reveal the light nape and buffy underside on an otherwise dark bird."
In 2024, Eric Mueller wrote: "The most unexpected bird of the day was a very late Broad-winged Hawk that was spotted by Sara Baitch, a birder from Worcester, who just happened to be looking south when the rest of us were looking north. She was positive of the ID, having had a family of Broadies residing near her home in Worcester all summer."� "Other observers: John Edmondson, Tom Gottschang"
Non-raptor Observations: Canada Goose-20, Blue Jay-1, Amer Crow-19 migrating.
Predictions: With the nor'easter storm working its way slowly up the East Coast, we'll continue to get strong NE winds at 10-12 mph with gusts up to 22-24 mph. However, our tired eyeballs will finally get some relief in the form of partly cloudy skies. Temperatures are expected to be from the low 40's to low 50's F. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
