Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5.33 hours
Official Counter: Brian Rusnica
Observers: Visitors: None
Weather: Humid and cloudy throughout, with light winds shifting from the East to the South through the day. Poor visibility, especially to the east, with murky horizons on all sides. The approaching front loomed large and dark over the West side of the mountain, bringing sprinkles and ending the watch just after 2pm EDT. Raptor Observations: A solid morning flight of Broad-winged Hawks taking off to the North powered the count. Small groups lifted off in the still conditions starting right at 9am and totalled about 75 birds. The entire flight seemed to be positioned across the Wapack Ridge, with some kettles popping behind the true summit. The rest of the Broad-wing flight was just a series of drips with the occasional small (<10) kettle showing up. Right around 10:30am, I was seated and scanning behind the summit, when a sound that can only be compared to a fighter jet afterburner fired off behind me, raising my hackles and causing me to instinctively duck. A Merlin had dropped out of the sky, hit the air brakes, and was now making multiple aggressive passes on the decoy owl. Merlin are typically not fooled for long by Margaret, our hard-working veteran decoy, but this falcon did not get the hint which allowed for many wonderful seconds of close observation. The commotion drew in a curious Common Raven, who did silent wide laps around the owl before eventually deciding to pursue the Merlin. Within the same hour, a close female American Kestrel materialized right over the owl but was apparently not fooled as completely as the Merlin was.
In the afternoon, a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk did a tour around the summit with two talons full of some sort of prey item, in addition to already having a full crop. Later a Merlin and another juvenile Red-tailed Hawk exchanged pleasantries over the East Summit. Non-migrant Raptors: Turkey Vulture 11 Bald Eagle 3 Red-tailed Hawk 1
Non-raptor Observations: A single Great Blue Heron was seen high over the mountain - not a common sight at what must've been 2,500 feet in elevation.
Common Raven 18 Chimney Swift 4 Great Blue Heron 1
Predictions: NW winds return overnight, forecasted to be moderate in our area. The next 2 days are setting up as prime wind conditions in the heart of the Broad-winged Hawk migration window. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brian Rusnica (<brian_rusnica...>) Mount Watatic information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
