Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6.75 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Christine Restell, Lisa Burwell, Marty McNamara, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: My thanks to a nice group of observers today - we had some good conversation between the sightings. Thanks to Christine for the Cadburys! Aidan spent some time with us hoping to see some rarities.
Several hundred hikers, sightseers and dogs on the summit today.
Weather: As expected, we had another sunny and unseasonably warm day with a lot of haze in the air. A temperature inversion (53 F down below in Sterling, 64 F at the summit) trapped remnants of fog to the east and whatever other particulates were left over from yesterday, and formed a noticeable brownish-gray layer in the air. We could only see an outline of Mt Grace, and really had to struggle to see Boston. Temps rose from 64 to 75 F. There were very few clouds, so the contrails left by the airliners passing overhead were very useful when trying to get other observers on some of the higher birds. Winds stayed from the NE to E at 4-7 mph through the first 4 hours, then faded to 1-3 mph around noon as it eventually swung around to the SSE.
Raptor Observations: Most of the migrating birds came by singly, except for 2 Red-shoulders and 8 TVs. The birds were much more evenly spread out than yesterday, with either 3 or 4 birds spotted each hour from 9 am to 2 pm EST, and then 11 in the last hour courtesy of the kettle of TVs. Some birds were getting good height from whatever winds there were aloft. TVs were the only species to get into double-digits. Marty went down to the North Rd overlook from 11 am to 12:50 pm EST but didn't see any migrants go by.
Non-migrating raptors: TV - 8 Bald Eagle - 6 (minimum number. 2 AD, 2 Imm and 2 Juv were seen in a single kettle, interacting actively with each other.) Red-tails - 3
Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors: Canada Goose - 97 (skeins of 17, 50 & 30) DC Cormorant - 1 Blue Jay - 2 Comm Raven - 5 WB Nuthatch - 1 Yellow-rump Warb - 2 DE Junco - 8
Predictions: A challenging day with more unseasonably warm air and SW winds at 10-15 mph. Not expecting much to move against these solid headwinds. Eric will start the day on the summit, but will likely move to the North Rd overlook for a few hours, and may end the day early. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
