Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5.75 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Christine Restell, Cindy Rost, David Brown, Greg McGuane, Hayley Morway, Jean Hampel, Joanne Hart, Joe Fountain, Lisa Burwell, Marty McNamara, Paul Vanderhoof, Susan Moses, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: Two different groups of rather vociferous high school students, and a fair number of hikers and other sightseers. The strong cold wind moved many of them off of the platform fairly quickly.
Weather: A cold, sunny day with solid NNW winds most of the day. Winds averaged 6-10 mph with gusts of 16 mph throughout the morning, but eased off a bit in the afternoon. Temperatures ranged from 39 to 47 F. The air was extremely clear, so the Sandwich mountain range and the Ossipee's in NH were easily visible. Scattered cumulus clouds above the northern horizon helped with locating some of the lower-flying birds.
Raptor Observations: Thanks to our well-bundled-up crew who dealt with wind-chill factors in the 30's and 40's, and clear blue skies overhead all day. We had a great turnout in anticipation of a great flight that turned out to be pretty good. The count was our best in 10 days, although we're still waiting for the TV migration to kick into high gear. The clear air let us see many distant birds that were too far away to ID well.
The local Red-tails continued to provide entertainment most of the day. Non-migrating raptors: TV - 4 Bald Eagle - 2 (minimum number, 1 Adult and 1 Juv that, at one point, locked talons for over 5 seconds and plunged quite a distance before releasing) Red-tailed Hawk - 3 (Minimum number. 1 Ad and 2 Juv)
Non-raptor Observations: The Canada Geese definitely decided to get moving today. Canada Goose - 201 (skeins of 4, 6, 13, 18, 80 and 80) Blue Jay - 4 Comm Raven - 4 We couldn't hear any passerine calls over the noise of the wind and the visiting school groups.
Predictions: A strong high pressure system moving east from Lake Huron will continue to dominate the weather in the northeastern US through Saturday morning. For Friday, seasonably cool temps (41-57 F), clear blue skies (again???), and moderate (5-8 mph) SSW winds most of the day. The winds will be coming from the SW throughout New England, so we should have a good chance of retaining our fair share of migrating birds. Below-freezing temperatures overnight should provide the birds with plenty of incentive to move. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
