Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours
Official Counter: Bill Rasku, Eric Mueller
Observers: Bill Rasku, Marilyn Cugini, Paul Vanderhoof, Steve Smith
Visitors: Bill ran the North Rd site by himself, while Paul Vanderhoof, Marilyn Cugini and Steve Smith made some nice sightings while helping Eric out at the summit. Very nice work everyone!
Hundreds of hikers, bikers, sightseers and runners on the mountain today. The Childrens Cancer Fundraiser "Obstacle Course" with around 100 runners was held in the morning. North Rd lookout was the "untie the knot" station, while the summit was "carry the heavy bag of sand" location. The ski area is running its Food Truck Festival this weekend, so the ski lift ran all day.
Weather: A bit of a strange day. Rain wasn't in today's forecast, but the region was dotted all day with isolated rain cells that mostly consisted of fine drizzle. We saw partial rainbows twice. Temps varied only slighty all day, ranging from 46 to 50 F. The winds were a bit lower than forecasted, mostly 4-7 mph with semi-regular gusts to 10+, and sunshine was very sporadic. The low thick clouds in the morning rose up as the day progressed, but the cloud base never quite reached 5000 ft. It ended up being a cold day on the platform. Visibility varied widely as the rain cells moved around, with clear views of Boston all day while Gardner was hidden by rain several times. When clear of rain, we could easily see all of the VT and central NH mountains other than Mt Washington.
Raptor Observations: Bill observed from the North Rd overlook from 7:30 to 2:00 EST (with a weather break from 9:15 to 10:00), while Eric and the others observed from the summit from 9:00 to 2:00. The bird counts were more evenly balanced today than recently, with 31 seen at North Rd and 20 at the summit, with no overlaps. We had a nice range of birds with 9 species represented. Bill sighted another adult Golden Eagle - no sign of white, although it was in mediocre light.
Non-raptor Observations: There were a lot of passerines flying around in small groups today, beyond what is listed below.
Canada Goose - 69 goose sp - approx 100 (probably Canadas - 24 + 36 + ~40) duck sp - 6 Comm Loon - 1 gull sp - 41 Blue Jay - 3 Amer Crow - 158 (11 groups, all headed W to SW) Comm Raven - 4 BC Chickadee - 4 T Titmouse - 1 WB Nuthatch - 1 Downy WP - 1 Red-bellied WP - 1 GC Kinglet - 2 Amer Robin - 169 (5 groups, all headed W to SW) DE Junco - 15 Snow Bunting - 4 blackbird sp - ~250 (all in one group)
Predictions: We're expecting a slightly cooler day on Sunday with temps in the 40's, NNW winds at 5-8 mph, and much sunnier skies than today. The birds should have better thermals to work with, and we'll have better viewing conditions and warmer backs. The porta-potties should remain in place at the summit at least through tomorrow.
The road to the summit is closed to vehicles for the season. Hiking and biking are the approved modes of travel to the summit (no, helicopters and sky diving are not options.) ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
More site information at hawkcount.org:https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=228
