Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Phil Brown
Observers: Alan Bostick, Annamarie Saenger, Chuck Carlson, Dot Currier, Julie Brown, Mike Gebo, Miki Foley, Susie Spikol, Tom Delaney, Tom Warren
Visitors: 95 - an excellent crowd for a Tuesday! Partly thanks to a rescheduled raptor release, in which we released rehabilitated immature American Kestrel and Merlin back to the wild. Thanks to Wings of the Dawn in Henniker, NH for the care of these birds and their continued partnership. Great to see many old friends and meet many first-time visitors, too! Thanks to Dawn, Rebecca, Gigi, Brian and Pat, Rick and Suzanna, a Harris Center 'Natural History of Autumn' course, and others for spending some time with us.
Weather: A gorgeous transition of the seasons day. Mostly sunshine interspersed with well-spaced clouds, and a cool northeast breeze. Excellent visibility, especially early and late in the day. Good conditions to produce birds!
Raptor Observations: A great morning for close windblown birds sailing across the ridge and over the summit in ones and twos. Signs of the broad-winged flight slowing down, but they're not all gone yet. Fine day for raptor diversity and numbers of the late-September species. Perhaps a changing of the guard, with the best day of the season thus far for Turkey Vultures (11), Cooper's Hawks (9), and Red-tailed Hawk (2), and another strong kestrel flight (16). Male kestrels punctuated the day with birds showing at key moments, including the first minute of the count, two circling overhead just five minutes before noon (when we released a rehabilitated kestrel back to the wild), and a final hour bird as the last raptor of the day.
Predictions: Moderate northeast winds and continued sunny skies could continue to push birds our way and give them lift. Clarry Hill had a big day today, and Pack often gets birds following these, so keep an eye out for a final big push of broad-wings ahead of this weekend's weather. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Phil Brown (<brown...>) Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory information may be found at: www.harriscenter.org
