Date: 3/17/26 6:21 pm From: Thomas Filip <thomasfilip0660...> Subject: Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch (17 Mar 2026) 5 Raptors
*Tussey Mountain Hawk WatchState College, Pennsylvania, USADaily Raptor
Counts: Mar 17, 2026SpeciesDay's CountMonth TotalSeason TotalBlack
Vulture000 Turkey Vulture01435 Osprey000 Bald Eagle03235 Northern
Harrier001 Sharp-shinned Hawk01417 Cooper's Hawk088 American Goshawk000
Red-shouldered Hawk02223 Broad-winged Hawk000 Red-tailed Hawk25359
Rough-legged Hawk011 Golden Eagle2154163 American Kestrel177 Merlin022
Peregrine Falcon000 Unknown Accipitrine002 Unknown Buteo011 Unknown
Falcon011 Unknown Eagle001 Unknown Raptor011 Total:5310357Observation start
time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 8
hoursOfficial CounterThomas FilipObservers: Nick BolgianoWeather: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.Raptor Observations:2 GOEA spotted
today.*
*2 adult 12:35, 13:31*
*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.*
