Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch State College, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 17, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Thomas Filip
Observers: Nick Bolgiano
Weather: Last night's storm left some snow on the ground and the temperature dropped with a low of -4.4℃ and a high of 0.7. Snow squalls came through several times, dramatically lowering visibility, but visibility was otherwise good in between. Winds were fairly consistent with W winds at 10-13mph for most of the day shifting to WNW in the last hour.
Our first GOEA gave us some great views but also difficulty in identifying it as first. A particularly small and dark individual, at first it was hunting close to the ridge and it was only when it flew near a RTHA and turned that we could get a proper sense of size and a better look at its plumage. After it went around the hawk watch once, it turned NE while gaining altitude and continued on its way. The second was larger and also seemed to be hunting briefly but did not stop like the first and continued NE.
Other migrating raptors include 2 RTHA and 1 AMKE. 1 of the migrating RTHA was escorted out by a territorial resident.
By far the most surprising passerine flyover of the season was the flock of Redpolls that flew over today, see the eBird checklist for more details. We also had some AGOL, PISI, a AMPI, and a HOLA, all heading S/SSE.
We also saw a pair of raven, 1 with what looked like a black feather in its mouth. Perhaps courtship behavior. A third raven tried to join in but the pair did not seem to be interested.
Predictions: Mostly cloudy with weak winds starting SW and shifting to S later. We might see a couple GOEA. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Thomas Filip () Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch information may be found at: tusseymountainspringhawkwatch.org/
