Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours
Official Counter: Bill Rasku, Mark Morris
Observers: Bill Rasku, Christine Restell, Joanne Hart, John Edmondson
Visitors: A solid crew today. Evan Lipton was a big help. Thanks to you all!
Weather: A generally sunny day with moderate humidity, and light breezes from the NE that eventually swung around to the SE and then died off entirely at the end of the session. Very good visibility to start with - the snowy cap of Mt Washington could be seen in the distance. Cloud cover increased in the last few hours and the visibilty decreased with the reduced light. Temps varied from 41 to 53F.
Raptor Observations: Turkey Vultures finally started coming through in larger numbers today, including several double-digit kettles riding up on the thermals. The bird of the day was an immature American Goshawk that flew by low, sporting a full crop! We're waiting to see if anyone got a clear photo of it. Bill Rasku spent most of the day down at the North Road overlook and his observations are cross-checked against the summit team's. Bill spent an additional hour there after the summit team left.
Non-migrating raptors: TV - 4 Bald Eagle - 6 (3 Ad, 2 Imm, 1 Juv) Red-tail - 3
Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors: 4 Comm Raven, 3 Blue Jay, 20 Amer Crow (17 migrating in one group), 2 Yellow-rump Warb, Hairy WP, WB Nuthatch, 2 DE Junco, 5 Comm Loon, 10 Canada Goose, T Titmouse, Ruby-cr Kinglet.
Predictions: Friday is expected to be a very sunny day, with low humidity, temps in the high 40s to almost 60 F, and solid 5-10 mph winds from the NNE. This is a recipe for a fine flight. We'll just have to deal with a cloudless sky. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
