Observation start time: 09:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 5.5 hours
Official Counter: Rob Woodward
Observers: Matt Tarr
Visitors: Here's the best part. 36 total, with most of that composed of Matt Tarr's bird identification course through UNH Coopertive Extension. At last Alton Bay Hawk Watch was crowded with enthusiastic hawk watchers, albeit beginners. Matt allowed me to step in as hawk professor with his students, a tough but rewarding job. Luckily they arrived at the right time to see and identify at least the most common ones like Sharp-shin and Broad-wing. They had lots of good questions, some humbling. I think they got a lot out of it in one short visit. Hopefully some will return to help with the count and to pick up some hawk ID experience.
Weather: A brisk day at Alton Bay. Even my 7 layers of clothing started to wear thin by the end of the count. The lake was a cold deep steely blue. Light winds all day variable from W to NE to NW to W. Partly cloudy with high thin clouds, temperature from 36 to 47 F.
Raptor Observations: Hawk watchers should know that Alton Bay is the only spring hawk watch in the state that reports to Hawk Migration Association or the NH Brids Listserv. There are only 3 other active spring sites this year in all of New England. If you are interested in spring migration, Alton Bay is your best bet.
Non-raptor Observations: The first Field Sparrow of the season appeared. Very little passerine activity, no Pine Warblers singing, no Yellow-rumps passing overhead. I have to attribute it to colder temperatures compared to the past few days.
Predictions: The chance of rain tomorrow keeps increasing, now up to 46% at noon, so it now looks doubtful. Saturday will be the next day possible.
It's possible the peak happened around the 17th, based on other watch data, without anyone realizing it. I call this a "Sneak Peak" but there are still plenty more hawks to count and in fact that could have been a "fake peak". ======================================================================== Report submitted by Rob Woodward (<toucanrob...>)
