Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6.75 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Bill Enright, Carole Powers, Lisa Burwell, Paul Vanderhoof, Rick Quimby, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: A busy day on the summit with lots of hikers, bikers, motorcyclists and other sightseers, but without the ski lift operating, it was never a mob scene. Jim Guion stopped by to check on things, and I talked with Troy from Mass Wildlife about kestrels and other raptors. We discussed our mission here with quite a few people.
Weather: Happily, no upslope fog on the mountain this morning. There was moderate haze in the air throughout the morning, but that mostly faded as the afternoon progressed. High, thin stratus clouds to begin the day were replaced by thick cumulus clouds at midday which then thinned to just scattered clouds. Temps rose from 63 F to 73 F. Winds were quite light all day, coming from the NNE in the morning, losing all direction around midday, and then shifting almost 180 degrees to the SSE.
Raptor Observations: We had a small but well functioning crew today. In addition to those listed above, we got help from Liz Shaughnessy and her daughter Caitlin - thanks for spotting that Sharpie way up!
A nice solid day for late September. We had streams and kettles of Broad-wings intermittently from 9:48 am through 1:07 pm EST in groups of 9, 6, 28, 8, 18, 8, 6, 6, 6, 22, 5, 9, 7 and 7. Many were quite high up, probably relying on good thermal activity because the winds were very light at our altitude. A better than average day for N Harriers with 4 passing by, including 3 in the 1-2 pm EST hour. A nice mix of species today with 11 represented among the migrating birds.
Non-migrating raptors: Black Vulture - 3 (a distant view of what was likely the same 3 that we've been seeing here intermittently.) TV - 14 (minimum number, all seen at one time, but repeat appearances of small numbers all day) Bald Eagle - 2 (fewer than normal, probably due to the weak winds) Red-tailed Hawk - 4 (1 Ad, 3 Juv including the pale one)
Non-raptor Observations: Canada Goose - 21 (single skein) Grt Black-bk Gull - 1 (leading a skein of other gulls) gull sp - 11 (largish, but didn't appear to have the white face of the Grt BB) DC Cormorant - 1 Rock Pigeon - 1 (rarely seen up here) Blue Jay - 3 Comm Raven - 6 Gr Catbird - 1 E Towhee - 1 Yellow Warbler - 1
Predictions: For Sunday, temps from 65 to almost 80 F, sunny skies, and solid 8-12 mph winds starting from the WSW and moving to due W by 1 pm EDT. High humidity might cause some visbility issues. We'll have to see how the birds react to the stronger westerly winds. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
