Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Rob Woodward
Observers:
Visitors: 28, one of whom recognized me as a bird watcher. Not a hawk watcher but close enough.
Weather: Clear skies to start with increasing white puffy cold-front clouds by 11:45 then decreasing at 12:30 with more cloud cover later in the afternoon. Light NW winds to start increasing to modest by 10:30 then strong and at times gusty by 11:15, with strongest winds at 3:00. Warm pleasant hawk-watching temperatures of 59 - 71 F.
Raptor Observations: Today's hawk watching well illustrated how great a hawk watch can be with not thousands, not hundreds, but dozens of raptors. Bald Eagle, flying high and straight away to the southwest, a clear migrant. Osprey, 2, with their white underparts and M wings betraying their identity. Northern Harrier, 2, one late at 3:30 right up close at and then below eye level. Broad-winged Hawk, a swirling kettle that hawk watchers live for. Sharp-shinned Hawks riding thermals up to thousands of feet in just minutes. Merlin, 7! One short of tying the one-day high count record of 8 set on this date in 2020.
Non-raptor Observations: First Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the fall. Only 3 Monarchs compared to 56 yesterday. Do they favor light SW winds?
Predictions: They say the best hawk flight is the day after the cold front, less wind, better thermals. If so, tomorrow could be the peak day of the season at Alton Bay. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Rob Woodward (<toucanrob...>)
