Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5.5 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Bill Rasku
Visitors: Bill Rasku kindly rescued me from a completely solo effort about 2 hours into today's watch, and added an important 2nd set of eyes to the platform, as well as his always good companionship. Not surprisingly, more migrating birds seemed to appear as soon as he arrived. I only wish that the mystery bird had waited for Bill's arrival.
We also got much appreciated help from Susan Kirchhausen and Dave Shattuck. Bill's friend Jim Hedlund stopped by before Bill arrived.
In addition to a modicum of hikers and sightseers, the hilltop was covered by at least 200 "Hilltoppers" from the freshman and senior classes at Worcester Academy. Hormones were flowing freely on the summit for about an hour.
Weather: The (hopefully) last of a string of chilly days with blustery NE winds for a while. Winds again averaged 11-14 mph with regular gusts of 18-25 mph, and temps only in the 53-62 F range. High stratus clouds filtered the sunlight for most of the day, with brighter sunlight between 10:30 am EST and noon, but then back to lower levels. Visibility was very good in general, with only the Boston skyline hazy enough to be noted by the sightseers.
Raptor Observations: A measly 10-spot of migrating raptors. Most of the birds stayed low; the strong tailwinds made it unnecessary for them to gain big altitude in order to keep moving. The possible bird of the day was a buteo that had long, thin wings with tapered tips and a pale underbelly. I couldn't get my camera on it until it was long past, so the only pics showed a distant outline with a noticeable dihedral. Could this have been a Swainson's Hawk? UR for now.
Non-migrating raptors: TV-2 (maybe more), Bald Eagle-1 (Ad), Sharp-shin-1, Red-shoulder-1, Red-tail-3 (1 Ad, 2 Juv). The Red-tails soared and dove with the Ravens repeatedly.
In celebration of our 50th anniversary year on Wachusett, here's a look back at events on this date in previous years: In 1982, we had the largest ever daily count of Sharp-shinned Hawks (198) in Wachusett history.
In 1983, we counted 437 total raptors, including 325 Broad-winged Hawks, 60 Sharp-shins and 13 Ospreys.
In 1985, we had the 8th largest daily count of Sharp-shinned Hawks (151) in Wachusett history.
In 1988, we had the 7th largest daily count of Sharp-shinned Hawks (156) in Wachusett history.
In 2000, we had the 13th largest daily count of Ospreys (39) in Wachusett history.
In 2012, Steve Olson wrote: "Weather absolutely horrible for migrating raptors. Temp-58, Wind-SW at 10 mph in AM and up to 16 mph by 1:00 PM. No cloud cover, blue over the summit." "Smaller raptors couldn't fight the wind and stayed on the ground. Wind was so strong that one BW tried to peel right and got blown to the left around the mountain. Doubt if he got far." (Eric�s note: 6 total raptors for the day)
In 2016, Rod Chase wrote: "Two local BE's put on quite a show as they dueled for 15 minutes and worked more than 90 degrees around the hill. The immatures finally split and set off in different directions."
In 2021, Eric Mueller wrote: "A very slow day despite the generally favorable local conditions."� "Non-raptors: possibly the best bird of the day was a Red-headed Woodpecker, which has never been reported previously on eBird for this site."
Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors: Canada Goose-2, Blue Jay-1, Comm Raven-7, warbler sp-1, E Towhee-2.
The Ravens were very active all day, playing with each other as is so often their wont, as well as with the local Red-tails.
Non-avian: the young Porcupine once again obliviously grazed on the grass on the summit while many happy people took pictures and videos of it. Luckily there were no unleased dogs present.
Predictions: A strong nor'easter storm is expected to bring rain to the region from Friday night through Tuesday morning. We aren't planning on conducting watches on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. We'll have to wait and see how Tuesday shakes out. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
