Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Levi Burford
Observers: Mike Gebo
Visitors: We had 17 visitors to the hawk watch today. Most were enjoying the seasonable weather and having a nice quiet day on the ridge.
Weather: For the first 15 minutes of the day the clouds enshrouded the summit making visibility next to nothing. Then it cleared and the wind picked up, mostly from the west but with a slight southern component. The wind was pretty strong up high but calmed around noon for an hour or two. The day ended with a heavy cloud bank moving in and the wind rising in force once again.
Raptor Observations: With the midday slight lessening of wind we actually had a handful of migrants today. Several Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper's Hawks joined a small bunch of Red-tailed Hawks in moving past the platform. It was surprising as I was expecting the possibility of getting "skunked" today.
Non-migrant raptors included two Red-tailed Hawks.
Non-raptor Observations: Not much besides the usual Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches caching seed all day (entertaining on its own). We did have one group of seven Pine Siskins fly overhead but they were here and gone in short time.
The Common Raven crowd totaled 13 at its greatest strength.
Predictions: Slightly better wind direction and speed predicted for tomorrow along with some slightly cooler temperatures. Maybe we'll actually see some sort of migration push tomorrow. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Levi Burford (<lbburford...>) Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory information may be found at: www.harriscenter.org
