Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch State College, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 18, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours
Official Counter: Thomas Filip
Observers:
Visitors: Jeff
Weather: S winds throughout the day starting off very low at 1-3mph in the morning gradually rising to 8-10 mph by the end of the day. A bit chilly in the morning but warmer than yesterday with a low of -5℃ and a high of 2℃. Cloud cover varied throughout the day but was generally mostly cloudy in the morning and mostly sunny in the afternoon.
The day started off very slow with no migrating raptors in the morning. Weather conditions gradually improved later and finally an immature GOEA flew in at 15:31, soaring for a minute and giving nice looks before moving on. The next one at 15:40 glided through much more quickly. The last one at the 16:20 was lower than the last 2 and descending, a behavior I have seen in previous days where a GOEA was spotted in the last hour, probably looking for a place to roost for the night.
Other migrating raptors include 1 TUVU and 1 AMKE.
A flock of 5 AGOL were waiting for me in the trees when I arrived and a few more flew past throughout the morning. 1 PISI was heard. A RBNU was heard a couple of times in the morning and afternoon, the first I have heard at the site this season.
Predictions: Weak S winds in the morning shifting to SSW/SW later in the day. Cloudy throughout the day. S winds are generally good but weak winds and high cloud cover could prevent many raptors from coming through. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Thomas Filip () Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch information may be found at: tusseymountainspringhawkwatch.org/
