Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours
Official Counter: Katrina Fenton
Observers: Chuck Carlson, Glen and Alan Chretien, Nancy Moreau, Tom Momeyer
Visitors: Hikers, English sheepdog walkers, and a young couple having their photos taken were among the day's 105 visitors.
Weather: The northwest wind was a more reasonable 15-20 mph with 25mph gusts, far more reasonable than yesterday's blast, but still enough to bring tears one's eyes when trying to count distant goose flocks. The temperature started a coupe degrees below freezing, warming to 40F by the end of the day. Partly cloudy skies in the morning melted away to clear blue, with one persistent cloud obscuring Washington's snowy dome until after noon.
Raptor Observations: Glen asked for the Red-tailed Hawk conveyer belt to start up, and sure enough, red-taileds dominated every hour of the count, though a string of 5 adult Bald Eagles gave them a run for their money in the 10 o'clock hour. Shortly after noon, two birds were spotted rising off the side of North Pack- the higher a young, dark Bald Eagle, the lower our 11th Golden Eagle of the season! The golden drifted behind North Pack, then emerged a few minutes later and flapped and glided down the mountainside, decked in crisp, dark juvenile plumage punctuated by snowy wing patches and a pure white tail edged in black.
Non-raptor Observations: Goose skeins threaded through the sky in tangled masses, the largest holding 131 birds. Gulls and a single loon rounded out the waterbird flight.
Non-raptor Migrants: Canada Goose- 1185 Ring-billed Gull- 4 Common Loon- 1 American Crow- 13 Purple Finch- 19 Pine Siskin- 1
Predictions: Well, one forecast is calling for partly cloudy skies, the other for overcast. Both agree that temps will be in the upper 40s to around 50 and there'll be an increasing southwest wind. If we end up with more sunshine and the wind stays lighter and more westerly, we should see a continuation of today's flight. Otherwise, migration might be on the lighter side until after the rain comes through tomorrow night.
On this day in Pack history:
2021: Raptors aren't the only predatory birds to migrate by Pack. Phil Brown: "A strange chortling got the counters' attention in the early afternoon. Initially dismissed as an odd Blue Jay, the odd calls continued and elicited thoughts of an escaped Budgerigar (Parakeet) until we finally observed the culprit singing atop a spruce - a juvenile Northern Shrike!" ======================================================================== Report submitted by Katrina Fenton (<gosknits...>) Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory information may be found at: www.harriscenter.org
