Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch State College, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 13, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:15:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 9.75 hours
Official Counter: Thomas Filip
Observers: Connor Schmitt, Craig Kochel, Joe Gyekis, Nick Bolgiano, Randy Phillips
Visitors: Frank Blum
Weather: Moderate winds in the morning around 10mph from 08:00-11:00, increased quickly afterwards to around 21-24mph by 12:00 before decreasing steadily until the end of the day. Mostly cloudy throughout the day clearing up only slightly by the end. Chilly in the morning with a low of -2.2℃, warming up to a high of 6.1℃ in the afternoon.
After a very long and slow morning with no raptors, we had our first GOEA at 11:32. The wind speed increased a lot after this one and we didn't see any more for 3 more hours until after the wind slowed down. After Connor arrived, we got 5 within an hour. A few more would pass through until the last one at 16:14, which was lower than the rest and likely looking for a place to roost overnight in Rothrock State Forest.
Other migrating raptors include 1 BAEA, 10 RTHA, 2 RSHA, 1 SSHA, 1 COHA, and 4 TUVU.
A slow day for other flyovers. We had a few AMRO, a couple of AGOL, and a COGR in the morning.
Predictions: W/WNW winds tomorrow, partly sunny in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. We might see a few GOEA but probably not as many as today. Sunday looks to be better with SE/SSE winds. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Thomas Filip () Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch information may be found at: tusseymountainspringhawkwatch.org/
