Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch State College, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 11, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8.25 hours
Official Counter: Adam Bradley
Observers: Deb Rittelmann, Kevin McGrath, Larry Coble, Peggy Wagoner, Phil Kress
Visitors: Larry Coble from 2nd Mountain Hawk Watch was up early waiting for me when I arrived at the cut. He spotted the first GE of the day trying to slip by low over the highway on the S side of the ridge. He also spotted our first of the season female MAKE. My buddy Kevin McGrath from White Plains was back up for day 2 of his visit and it was looking pretty grim early in the count. Happy we finally got some GE’s and he appreciated the close looks. Phil Kress joined us as well in the morning and assured us he would be back. Jacqui and David McKee were superb at helping us spot birds that were slipping by distant. I hope they join us again as we appreciate their help spotting migrating raptors. Jeff Peters of the State College Bird Club was up again this morning and got to experience a busty flight. Deb Rittelmann and Peggy Wagoner rotated in during the afternoon and did an exceptional job picking up all the RTHA’s sky high following the ridgetop N. DJ and Dorris Sledz arrived and got to see a few migrants moving through. Stacie Bird and Jim Ruth joined me again in the late afternoon and I greatly appreciated their company.
Larry Coble Kevin McGrath Phil Kress Jacqui and David McKee Deb Rittelmann Peggy Wagoner DJ and Dorris Sledz Jim Ruth and Stacie Bird
14 hikers
Weather: S-SW winds for most of the survey at 12kph. By 15:00 the winds shifted to the west which is when the flight tapered off. Visibility was good for most of the count to 12km. Very little cloud cover for most of the count, however in the final 1.5 hours of the survey some high stratus formed over Tussey Mountain. Low temperature of 9C at 09:00 and a high of 23C by 15:00.
Raptor Observations: TV 1 (85) BE 2 (37) SS 2 (12) RS 2 (20) RT 12 (47) GE 7 (88) AK 1 UB 1 (7) UR 1 (4) Total 29 (317)
GE A 11:22, A 11:23, A 11:49, I 11:49, I 12:05, A 12:10, A 14:23
The flight was looking pretty grim with not even our resident raptors spotted anywhere until 11:00 EST. Luckily Larry Coble wondered downhill below the OP and picked up our first GE trying to sneak by below the ridge on the S side. No sooner did he holler up at us than a near GE flew in close just to the S. At this point the flight continued to build and we were alerted to two GE’s by a CORA. The CORA seemed to take particular interest in mobbing both of the immature GE’s. I have seen this same behavior in Montana many times, so I am happy the PA CORA are also capable of aging GE’s. Larry also picked up our first of the season MAKE bouncing along the tree tops over the gap and it shot out the N side of the cut. In the 12:00 hour, Peggy Wagoner started picking up all the high streaming RTHA’s.
The resident COHA got in a dogfight with a migrating SSHA just S of the OP. It was close enough you could hear the faint cry of the SSHA. The resident RTHA was observed throughout the day on Leading Ridge.
Non-raptor Observations: Canada Goose 100 Mourning Dove 3 American Herring Gull 1 Turkey Vulture 5 Pileated Woodpecker 2 American Crow 2 Common Raven 1 Black-capped Chickadee 4 Tufted Titmouse 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 European Starling 3 Eastern Bluebird 4 American Pipit 1 House Finch 1 Purple Finch 1 Red-winged Blackbird 7 Common Grackle 2
Helium Balloons 2 (4)
Predictions: Partly sunny, with a high near 55. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
With a steady ramping up in numbers over the last few days, tomorrow is shaping up to possibly be our biggest flight of the season.
======================================================================== Report submitted by Adam Richardson (<poecile.gambeli...>) Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch information may be found at: tusseymountainspringhawkwatch.org/
