Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch State College, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 20, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 4.75 hours
Official Counter: Thomas Filip
Observers: Nick Bolgiano, Noah Hart, Ron Crandall
Weather: The early morning was sunnier and windier than expected and warmer than the past week with a low of 8.9℃ and a high of 15.1℃. The clouds started to roll in quickly but the wind speed stayed consistent at 8-10mph throughout the day. Wind direction started S, shifted to SSW by 10:00, and then SW by 12:00. The rain started at 12:30 with a light drizzle and started to get a little heavier after 1:00 when I ended the count for the day.
Another unexpectedly good day, I certainly did not expect to get another double-digit GOEA day this season. Moderate S winds and sunny skies early in the morning undoubtedly helped. The action started at 09:48 with our first bird coming over the ridge and 3 more spotted within the next 20 minutes. The skies became mostly cloudy afterwards and the action would slow a bit, with Noah spotting our 5th GOEA at 10:42. 5 more GOEA flew through afterwards, with the last at 12:01, about half an hour before it started to rain. The GOEA today were all lower and closer to the ridge than they have been in the past few days, and some even stopped to soar momentarily, giving us some good looks.
Other migrating raptors include 8 RTHA, 2 SSHA, 2 TUVU, and 1 AMKE.
We had a DCCO flyover today, the first of the season. It was otherwise quiet in terms of other flyovers.
Predictions: Low to moderate NNW/NW winds, mostly cloudy in the morning and partly cloudy in the afternoon. NW wind can sometimes be good and it seems like there are still a good number of eagles left to come through despite being past the peak migration season. Given that we have had a steady flow of GOEA the past few days, I imagine we will see a few tomorrow. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Thomas Filip () Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch information may be found at: tusseymountainspringhawkwatch.org/
