Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch State College, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 18, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8.28 hours
Official Counter: AB
Observers:
Visitors: None
3 hikers.
Weather: A crisp, cold and bluebird morning on Tussey Mountain. Winds were light out of the NW at 6-11kph. By 11:00 the winds had shifted to the SE at 6kph. Visibility was good and improved later in the day when the sun was to the south and the light was good to Stone Mountain. Clear skies for the entire survey. Low temperature of 2C at 08:15 and high of 17C by 15:00.
Raptor Observations: TV 24 (126) BE 2 (48) NH 2 (8) RS 3 (31) RT 5 (116) GE 3 (123) AK 1 (7) UB 2 (10) UR 1 (6) Total 43 (526)
GE A 11:31, A 13:37, A 17:31
The flight got underway as the temperature rose in the 10:00 hour with a total of 5 raptors coming through and the first GE of the day. Since winds where light raptors were making use of thermals off the south slope of Tussey Mountain. Most raptors had to work the thermals coming off the mountain to hopscotch north along Leading Ridge. From the OP almost all the migrants appeared to be out over Stone Valley. The flight was pretty consistent until the 14:00 hour when some large kettles of TV’s were spotted over Stone Mountain. The TV kettles also helped with locating other migrating raptors as they honed in on the good thermal activity the TV’s were working. This approach yielded both of the days NOHA’s. Another kettle of TV’s formed in the gap between Leading Ridge and Tussey Mountain and all the birds streamed out high along the ridge top. A few minutes later even higher yet I lucked onto a sky-high GE just below the late afternoon sun. This eagle worked the thermals effortlessly and glided N along the ridge top to close the days effort out.
The first raptor to take to the skies was the Leading Ridge RTHA at 09:47. At 11:09 3 BAEA were dogfighting over Leading Ridge and a fourth adult appeared just S of the OP enroute to sort them out. A juvenile RTHA was spotted at 12:17 dogfighting with a CORA, possibly the one adept at aging raptors. At 16:23 two BAEA were taking friendly swipes at one another and at one point it looked like they locked talons briefly. The Leading Ridge RTHA keeps gliding down into the forest on the slope near the OP. I was able to scope the bird eventually and I will be curious to see if there is nest building going on in there.
Non-raptor Observations: Mourning Dove 1 American Herring Gull 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Pileated Woodpecker 2 American Crow 5 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 4 Horned Lark 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Eastern Bluebird 7 American Robin 1 American Pipit 5 House Finch 7 Pine Siskin 3 American Goldfinch 4 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 6 Red-winged Blackbird 5 Rusty Blackbird 1 Common Grackle 5
Predictions: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Light southeast wind becoming south 6 to 11 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph.
======================================================================== Report submitted by Adam Richardson (<poecile.gambeli...>) Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch information may be found at: tusseymountainspringhawkwatch.org/
