Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours
Official Counter: Caroline Fegley
Observers: Glen, Lori, and Alan Chretien, Tom Momeyer
Visitors: 143
Weather: Clear views of the snowcapped Mt. Washington and Lafayette under blue skies. Very light winds from the N, shifting a little E or W during some hours. 0-7 C (32-45 F).
Raptor Observations: Migrants surprisingly held off for the first few hours. Many raptors were very distant, but we did have a midday male kestrel perched in a spruce at the front of the hawkwatch, and a late-day sharp-shinned got within a few feet of Lori Chretien in a chaotically fast pass through the hawkwatch.
Non-raptor Observations: Not much raven activity, only 17 seen. 2 crows, 8 bluejays, 7 juncos, 2 chickadees, 1 golden-crowned kinglet, 1 goldfinch, 8 yellow-rumped warblers, 1 red-breasted nuthatch, 1 ruby-crowned kinglet, 1 eastern bluebird, 1 common loon, 18 cedar waxwings, 40 canada geese, and 1 monarch seeming to struggle to find lift and stopping on a low spruce branch for a few moments.
Predictions: On this day in Pack history... "2018: Just the start of a record year for Golden Eagles. Chad Witco: ""Without question, the highlight to today's raptor showing is the continued presence of Golden Eagles migrating past the platform. With two confirmed individuals on today's count, there have officially been 7 Golden Eagles observed at Pack over the last three days (3, 2, and 2 respectively). This marks the greatest 3-day showing of Golden Eagles in the history of organized hawk watching at this site since 2003! The closest any stretch of three days has come was in 2006 when between October 30th and November 1st a total of 6 Goldens were observed (3, 1, and 2). However, this stretch in 2006 added an additional 3 Goldens on November 3rd, resulting in 9 individuals over the course of a 5 day stretch. On a quick glimpse, it appears as if 2010 also had a decent showing with 4 individuals being seen over the course of 4 days (1 each day) between October 28th and November 1st. Will tomorrow continue this historic streak of Golden Eagles? Or will the flood gates close? Beyond the spectacle of Golden Eagles, today provided a nice mid-October showing with 9 confirmed raptor species migrating." ======================================================================== Report submitted by Caroline Fegley (<cgfegley...>) Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory information may be found at: www.harriscenter.org