Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Caroline Fegley
Observers: Annamarie Saenger, Katrina Fenton, Levi Burford, Mark Timmerman, Nora Hanke
Visitors: 13
Weather: Beautiful clear skies to warm up the hawkwatchers on the platform. Very light SE winds, sometimes not even detectible. -2-6 C (28-43 F)
Raptor Observations: More raptors than I expected! Annamarie Saenger spotted the 15th golden eagle of the season, Katrina Fenton looked very hard at an especially goshawk-ish Cooper's hawk, Levi Burford played Taps for the ceremonial Taking-Down-The-Owl, Mark Timmerman made sure every raven was accounted for (and cawed at), and Nora Hanke made sure every extra-distant bird was spotted.
Non-raptor Observations: Katrina was especially diligent in identifying silent passerine flyovers which gave us 1 evening grosbeak, 3 horned larks, and 5 bohemian waxwings to end the season with. We said goodbye to our beloved hawkwatch chickadees, nuthatches, and juncos. Henry the rabbit was thankfully spotted and sent off with good luck to not be eaten by a raptor during the off-season.
Predictions: Wow what a season! What we lacked in broadwings was sure made up for with other birds! So many lifers for counters and visitors... New raptor species records... And best of all, many laughs and great experiences with new and old friends.
See y'all next year!
On this day in Pack history... "2015: Katrina Fenton: ""One last day and one more record to break. 19 Red-tailed Hawks were needed for the old record of 522 set back in 2012 to fall. The first bird was spotted just before the clock turned to 10am. The next hour added another 22 red-taileds to the count, but there were still plenty of birds to come. ""Make sure you count some Bald Eagles today!"" Nancy instructed as she headed off after enjoying the last Golden Eagle of the count. Within 15 minutes, two baldies rose into view. A few minutes later, 2 more baldies jostled their way south. Within an hour's time, 8 Bald Eagles had passed the hawk watch, the last orbited by a sharpie comet."" ======================================================================== Report submitted by Caroline Fegley (<cgfegley...>) Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory information may be found at: www.harriscenter.org
