Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Katrina Fenton
Observers: Annamarie Saenger, Chuck Carlson, Mike Gebo, Nancy Moreau
Visitors: Today's 47 visitors and volunteers brought excellent questions, great company, and tasty baked goods. Thanks for your help spotting birds today!
Weather: Plenty of sunshine to start, with clouds slowly drifting in from the north and west. The temperature was slightly above freezing when the count began, warming to 45 before holding steady the rest of the day. The west wind was a force to be reconned with- hurtling gusts at hawks, watchers, scopes, and songbirds and setting Gina's head spinning.
Raptor Observations: Red-tailed Hawks were present in almost every hour of the count, most hunting their way south. The only 2 Turkey Vultures rode the winds east and north, making much faster progress than any of the day's migrants.
Non-raptor Observations: A few finches and one small goose flock braved the wind to head out of town. The local chickadees and juncos were tossed around like the high flying oak leaves whenever they went airborne.
Predictions: Tomorrow they're forecasting wall-to-wall sunshine, temps in the upper half of the 30s, and a brisk, but diminishing northwest wind. It should be good conditions for migration, especially if the wind ends up being on the lighter side of the predictions. This will be the last weekend that the auto road is open for driving to the top for the season- come on up and join us!
On this day in Pack history... 2017: As of 2023, we have hit 100 migrants in a day 3 times in November, twice in 2017. The best count overall was on 11/8 with 125 migrants counted. Katrina Fenton: "A Red-tailed Hawk soared past the count site first thing in the morning, followed by nearly half an hour of empty sky that built up anticipation like a Mark Twain pause. Then in a rush, hawks began to find thermals and mixed-buteo kettles built on both sides of the ridge. 47 migrants were counted in the 10am hour alone, more hawks than are seen in total on an average November day. A gang of 4 young Bald Eagles sparked a tornado of ravens over North Pack, causing even Nancy to declare, "What a mess!" as we tried to sort out their intentions to migrate. An immature Golden Eagle came from the east to join one of the balds as it streamed off towards Monadnock." ======================================================================== Report submitted by Katrina Fenton (<gosknits...>) Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory information may be found at: www.harriscenter.org
