Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 13:30:00 Total observation time: 5.25 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Fay Baird, Jean Hampel, Lisa Burwell, Scott Carlson, Scott Wahlstrom, Ted Purcell
Visitors: My thanks to all of the observers for their patience and companionship as we endured a less than fruitful session.
We had the usual complement of hikers and sightseers - maybe 60-70 in total.
Weather: The day began with a temperature inversion that formed a dark haze line to our East that extended as far north and as far south as I could see. Steam rising from the energy generation plant in Manchester NH initially stopped at that line, but later apparently had enough power that it formed its own little cumulus cloud just above the line. In any case, this inversion, combined with moderate cloud cover, resulted in stable air that likely provided little lift for the birds. Visbility was better to the West, but not enough to expose the VT mountains or Greylock. Temps rose from 60 to 74 F, and the wind was southerly at 3-5 mph.
Raptor Observations: The birds were apparently wholly unimpressed by the weather conditions, and for the 2nd day in a row, we didn't see any raptors (migrating or local) for over 2-1/2 hours to begin the day. Between 11:02 and 11:14 am EST, 3 Sharp-shins passed by, and after that, we saw no further migrating birds. Non-migrating raptors weren't in great abundance either: TV-4, Bald Eagle-2 (1 Ad, 1 Imm), Sharp-shin-1, Red-shoulder-1, Red-tail-2 (1 Ad, 1 Juv), Unident buteo-2.
In celebration of our 50th anniversary year on Wachusett, here's a look back at events on this date: In 1978, 115 Broad-wings, 3 Ospreys and 13 Unidentified buteos were counted in 4 hours of observation time
In 2017, Rod Chase wrote: "Bulk of flight was between 11am and 1pm. First large kettles of BW's for this year were 196 at 11:50am and 310 from 12:20-12:30pm. Such a fine rush: many close and high overhead with kettles east, north and west. Counter: Rod Chase. Observers: Bill Rasku, Paul Roberts, Ted Mara, Ann Howe, Blaire Elzenbeck, Joe Bourget, Mark Morris, Colleen Tank, Tom Gottschang, Christine Restell, Tom McNamara, Julie Roberts, Dan Rossman and whoever I missed." (Eric�s note: the day�s final count was 840 migrating raptors, including 803 Broad-wings)
Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors: D-C Cormorant-1, Chim Swift-4, Cedar WW-14, Blue Jay-3, Comm Raven-3, Gr Catbird-1, E Towhee-2.
Predictions: Expecting partly cloudy skies, temps in the upper 70's and strong westerly winds in the 14-16 mph range, and likely gusts up into the 20's. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
