Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5.75 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Deb Gustafson, Gail Cormier, Jay Cormier, Katie Durham, Lisa Burwell, Paul Vanderhoof, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: We had help today from a number of local and not-so-local birders including Michael LaBossiere, Justin Barrette, Ann and Chris, Mica Low, Rebecca Thayer, Kate and Josh Pendleton, Toby and Mike from Newton, and Michaella and Carolyn Rao. You're all welcome to come back any time.
Over 100 hikers, bikers and sightseers came up today. One young woman accepted a marriage proposal from her boyfriend on the stone observation stand, and they were applauded by most of the other people on the summit. The lack of a working ski lift helped to keep the crowds from the ski area festival off of the mountain. There were also over 50 congregants from the Holy Trinity Anglican Church.
Weather: We were expecting the SW winds today, but what we weren't expecting was low cloud cover to start the day which left the summit covered until about 10:30 EDT. After that it still took the clouds a while to rise fully. High humidity also left us with fairly thick haze which formed a noticeable layer until around noon. Even later in the day, we could only see the outline of Monadnock, nothing to the west beyond Mt Grace and just the outline of the Uncanoonuc's to the northeast. As the day progressed, thick, and at times dark, cumulus clouds formed.
Raptor Observations: We had a nice, compact team today who communicated well with each other. We also had help from a group from MA Audubon's Wachusett Meadow site and other visitors.
The weather was not our friend today. Between the hour plus cloud delay and the SW winds, we were only able to spot 42 migrating birds today. To the north, the Mt Watatic site also had a cloud delay but after that benefited from their position along a ridgeline to count over 200 birds for the second day in a row. Luckily for us, the Ospreys didn't seem to mind the wind and 16 passed through. The 11 Broad-wings that we spotted all came through in ones and twos. We did have a good selection of energetic local raptors to entertain us.
Non-mgrating raptors: TV - 10 Bald Eagle - 2 (1 Ad, 1 Imm/Juv) Sharp-shin - 1 Broad-wing - 4 (1 Ad, 3 Juv) Red-tail - 5 (2 Ad, 3 Juv) Merlin - 1 Peregrine Falcon - 1 (circled overhead just as I was leaving) Unident buteo - 1
Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors: Chim Swift - 2 RT Hummingbird - 1 Downy WP - 1 (male) Blue Jay - 1 Comm Raven - 12 BC Chickadee - 2 N House Wren - 1 Cedar WW - 22 (minimum number) DE Junco - 1
Predictions: The weather for Sunday looks excellent. We're expecting 5-8 mph NW winds all day, sunny to partly cloudy skies, and temps from the mid-60's to mid-70's. The only downside (barring another early morning cloud on the summit) might be high-ish humidity which would cut into the visibility a bit. This should be a recipe for a fine flight. Can't wait to see my first big kettle of the season. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
