Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:45:00 Total observation time: 7.75 hours
Official Counter: Bill Rasku
Observers: Christine Restell, Cindy Rost, Greg McGuane, Marty McNamara, Paul Vanderhoof, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: Thanks to all of the observers who slogged through a very slow, windy day with Bill.
The tower platform was busy all day with sightseers. 30+ boys from the Fenn School in Concord walked up. Friends of the Watch Carl and Peggy hiked up and stopped in to say hello.
Weather: Today was the first very hazy day in a while despite extremely low humidity. Possibly a temperature inversion or just a very stable air mass. Both Boston and Mt Mondanock were deep in the haze and Mt Greylock was not visible all day. The visibility improved a little around 11 am EST, especially to the NE. It was an unseasonably warm day with temps ranging from 57 to 72 F. Boston and Worcester either broke or were near their all-time highs. Winds were from the West all day at 8-14 mph with gusts from 15 to 25 mph. Very little cloud cover.
Raptor Observations: Bill and the team only counted 1 migrating bird, a Red-tail, in the first 5 hours of observation. A few birds flew through between 1 and 2 pm EST, and then 22 in the 2 to 3 pm hour, and 7 more in the last 45 minutes. Almost all the migrating birds were TVs.
Non-migrating raptors: TV - 2 Bald Eagle - 1 Ad Red-tail - 1
Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors: Blue Jay - 1 Amer Crow - 1 Comm Raven - 6 WB Nuthatch -1 DE Junco- 1 Yellow-rump Warb - 1 Golden-cr Kinglet - 1
Predictions: A similar day with highs in the low 70s, lots of sun, but light winds from the NNE shifting around to the SE by mid-afternoon. The humidity is predicted to be a bit higher, so haze may still be an issue. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
