Observation start time: 06:45:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9.25 hours
Official Counter: Kate McKay, Mark Timmerman
Observers: Alan Bostick, Amy Maurer, Annamarie Saenger, Chuck Carlson, Cindy Telley, David Wiedner, Dot Currier, John Welch, Judd Nathan, Kate McKay, Katrina Fenton, Levi Burford, Mark Timmerman, Mike Gebo, with many more...
Visitors: 201. It was great to share the day with so many other hawkwatchers and visitors; lots of excited exclamations, big smiles, and sheer wonder.
Weather: Crisp September day with excellent visibility all the way to Mount Washington. Mostly sunny at first, with high cloud cover moving in late morning. Light northerly breeze at the start; otherwise mostly calm. Temps rising from low forties to high fifties.
Raptor Observations: Woohoo! Ideal weather conditions, combined with perfect timing, resulted in an incredible, record-breaking day on the mountain. Activity picked up shortly after 11am, with kettle after kettle getting called out across the sky and being fed by seemingly endless streams of birds from the east. An exceptional 4,435 broad-wings passed by during the 12 o'clock hour alone, including one long river of birds flying low behind the trees near the summit. There were many amazing kettles in the hundreds that often appeared over North Pack or the Uncanoonuc hills and re-formed right above us. The last kettle of 210 birds came through during the 3 o'clock hour and then no more raptors were seen after that. We ended with a new single day high count for broad-wings, breaking the previous record of 5,208 broad-wings in 2011. And we have now passed 13,000 total raptors for the season!
Non-raptor Observations: Several woodpecker species including a Northern Flicker perching on top of a spruce, Pileated Woodpecker flying by low, and juvenile Downy Woodpecker foraging in a birch. One Ring-billed Gull flying towards the east.
Monarchs: 87/763 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds: 2/69
Predictions: Rain tomorrow with better weather coming Monday. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kate McKay (<northernjay444...>) Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory information may be found at: www.harriscenter.org
