Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Phil Brown
Observers: Chuck Carlson, Jim McCoy, Nate Marchessault, Tom Delaney
Visitors: 36 in total. Several individuals, groups of friends, and families hiked up the auto road (which was closed until the afternoon due to some patchy morning snow/ice) on this Veteran's Day. Folks from southern NH, the Boston area, and a family recently settled here from the Ukraine. Visitors blew by fairly quickly with the strong winds and cold temps.
Weather: A taste of winter! Frigid temps and a stiff west wind of 20-25 mph, with stronger gusts up to 40 or more in the afternoon. Low cloud deck and overcast skies, with temps holding steady at around 23F the entire count period. Blowing snow squalls most of the day.
Raptor Observations: Red-tails were on the move today, riding the ridgeline and moving slowly and steadily into the west wind. A juvenile goshawk was the closest bird of the day, and a quick glimpse of a peregrine was a nice surprise this late into November.
Non-raptor Observations: A good mix of species for this late in the season. A flock of a dozen Evening Grosbeaks, detected first by call, alighted briefly in the spruces nearby before continuing on to the west. A single Snow Bunting calling from flight and perching on rocks near the summit. A very large flock of juncos (~75) moved around the summit, with a few white-throats mixed in. Two continuing cottontails, and just a single chipmunk at the seed below the counter's feet.
Predictions: Just a bit warmer with less wind, perhaps with a more southerly component. THE AUTO ROAD IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE SEASON. Hike on up if you'd like to join us between 9 am and 3 pm through November 20. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Phil Brown (<brown...>) Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory information may be found at: www.harriscenter.org
