Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Bill Rasku, Eric Mueller
Observers: Bill Rasku, Christine Restell, Eric Mueller, Greg McGuane, Joanne Hart, Lisa Burwell, Marty McNamara
Visitors: Much quieter than on the weekend - maybe 100-150 other people on the summit today. We enjoyed talking about the watch with Glynys Thomas and Steven Faulkner from the Boston area who came up to check it out, and to several mothers who brought their home-schooled kids up to the mountain. A group of about 40 high school and middle school kids spent a short time on the summit.
Weather: Very little wind today, with a noticeable breeze only apparent after noon, and even then only at 4-7 mph when it finally began moving in a defined direction (from the West.) Very low humidity but some haze still noticeable in the air. Clear blue sky to our north until noon when the shelf of thin cirrus/stratus clouds began to pass over us from the south. Temps ranged from 63F to 77F.
Raptor Observations: Eric couldn't stay away after yesterday's big day and came up on his day off to help Bill and the crew. Thanks to our team above, and to Emarie Pope who came up to the summit for the first time.
We didn't have another huge flight today, but the triple digit count was still welcome. The biggest hour was between 9 and 10 am EST with 55 birds passing through. We were hoping the birds would keep coming through at that rate, but the advance of the cloud shelf from the south seemed to put a bit of a damper on the thermal uplift for the rest of the day. With the light winds, the birds had to circle longer to gain height.
Non-migrating raptors: The trio of Black Vultures that we've been seeing on and off since August turned into a quartet today. Bill watched them for at least 15 minutes as they circled up to the east and moved slowly west, trying to will them into migrating, but they eventually drifted northwest and down out of sight. Our juvenile Red-tail with the pale under-plumage and missing inner secondary feather(s?) on its right wing continued to hunt around the summit and perched on two of the nearby towers, giving us and the sightseers great views of it. Black Vulture - 4 TV - 6 (minimum number, multiple appearances all day) Bald Eagle - 5 (2 Ad, 1 Imm, 2 Juv) Red-tail - 2 (Juv) Peregrine Falcon - 1
Non-raptor Observations: Chimney Swift - 10 (a nice surprise at this late date) Blue Jay - 4 (minimum number, multiple appearances all day) Comm Raven - 3 (minimum number, multiple appearances all day) T Titmouse - 4 Downy WP - 1 Gr Catbird - 1 DE Junco - 4 E Towhee - 1 Yellow-rump Warb - 1
Predictions: Tuesday's weather looks good both for the migration and for our viewing conditions. We expect 8-10 mph winds from the N to NNE, temps from the mid-60's to mid-70's, partly cloudy skies and low humidity. Another triple-digit count is a good possibility. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
