Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Caroline Fegley, Mark Timmerman
Observers: Andre Moraes, Cameron Johnson, Chris Liazos, Mark Timmerman, Mike Gebo, Nate Marchessault, Tom Warren
Visitors: 162 including Monadnock Nature and Bird Club
Weather: Partly cloudy skies. Heavy WNW/SW winds, sometimes with gusts strong enough to lift dirt from the platform. -1-8 C (30-46 F)
Raptor Observations: The day may have been fairly raptorless and the 5-day goshawk streak may have ended, but our wishes came true with a 2:55pm golden eagle. To the young raptor enthusiast expressing how badly he wanted to see a golden, I am truly sorry this bird passed through moments after you left to beat the locking of the park gate. First seen head-on right of Crotched Mountain, all three hawkwatchers were immediately suspicious of the large raptor. In the scope, it was instantly an obvious juvenile golden eagle. The raptor slowly moved south slightly above eye level. The migration of our 5th of the season was followed by lots of loud cheers and some lead-counter tears.
Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptor highlights include 1 very close common loon appearing in front of the hawkwatch and circling once before heading east, and 2 white-winged crossbills. It turns out, if you speak of white-winged crossbills enough days in a row, your lifer will appear!
Predictions: Sunny skies and W winds 10-15 mph, good for another potential golden eagle (though that might be a little greedy)
On this day in Pack history... "2013: Quality over quantity on a south wind day with 6 total migrants. Henry Walters: ""Skyline's nice and clear and...uncluttered with hawks,"" said Wendy, which is just how you want it when a visitor from the tundra rolls in above tree-line: mostly empty. A pale cloud of a bird sank behind North Pack and kept us waiting a long time before emerging on the other side as a Rough-legged Hawk, just the second to appear at Pack in the nine years of the count. A juvenile, light-morph bird of a dozen contrasts, flashing its dark wrist-patches, dark belly, dark wingtips, and dirty Arctic-white everywhere in between. A twelve-spotted skimmer grown to outlandish proportions. Stole the thunder right out from under a young Golden Eagle which arrived an hour later, circling up over Crotched Mountain. He must've felt snubbed, because he turned due west and out of sight in a minute or so, never getting appreciably closer, and leaving us with mouths half open, half ready to peel off westward ourselves and tail that white band down through Pennsylvania, if necessary."" ======================================================================== Report submitted by Caroline Fegley (<cgfegley...>) Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory information may be found at: www.harriscenter.org
