Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5.75 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: John Edmondson, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: The observers today were Eric, John Edmonson and Tom Gottschang. Sara Baitch was a huge help in letting us know about the Broad-winged Hawk that snuck around us. Lisa Burwell stopped by and gave us a hand not long before we shut down for the day. Thanks to everyone for operating as well as we did amidst the throngs of sightseers on the platform and summit.
Weather: Another sunny day with very low humidity and warmer than normal temperatures ranging from 55 to 68 F. Visibility was very good with just enough haze to make Mt Washington hard to discern. Winds averaged 4-7 mph until the last 30 minutes when they picked up to 8-12 mph with occasional gusts to 15 mph. They started from the NW for the first two hours, eased over to due W for the second two hours and then over to WSW for the last two hours. High thin stratus clouds began filtering in from the north around 11 am which gave us some call-out points and a better background to work with. Heat shimmer beginning in the late morning combined with the light haze to make ID-ing some birds a challenge.
Raptor Observations: An average count for this time of year when the TVs aren't moving a lot. Like yesterday, today started very slowly with only one migrating raptor spotted in the first 2 1/2 hours. The 11 am-12 pm EST period accounted for almost 3/4 of the day's count with 30 birds tallied, including one kettle of 15 TVs. Right after that we saw 5 birds in a kettle to the west which included 3 Bald Eagles, a Red-shoulder and a UB. 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. (Sara - John now thinks that your mystery sparrow may have been an American Tree Sparrow.)
Non-migrating raptors: TV - 4 Bald Eagle - 6 (3 Ad, 2 Imm, 1 Juv) Red-tail - 2 Merlin - 1 UB - 1 UR - 2
Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors: gulls sp - 20 (a single flock that cicled up and then moved west) Canada Goose - 2 (no skeins today) Wild Turkey - 6 (all jakes, seen foraging on one of the ski trails next to the road) Blue Jay - 10 Comm Raven - 16 BC Chickadee - 2 DE Junco - 3 Yellow-rumped Warb - 1 GC Kinglet - 1
Predictions: Monday should be yet another sunny day, but with slightly higher temps possibly reaching into the 70s, and stronger (8-12 mph) winds from the West. Bill Rasku will lead the watch at the summit. We're hoping that the TVs and BEs rise to the challenge. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
