Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6.75 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: David Brown, John Edmondson, Lena Ficco, Paul Vanderhoof
Visitors: My sincere thanks to David, John, Paul and Lena for their help and good companionship today. We worked well together amongst the hubbub of the holiday weekend crowd on the summit, which probably exceeded the number of geese. We got to talk to a lot of visitors about our work here.
Weather: A nice, seasonable day on the mountain with temps from 46-58 F, WNW to N winds at 4-7 mph and low humidity. The thin cirrus clouds let plenty of sunshine through until the last hour when they thickened. Visibility was very good, with snow-covered Mt Washington visible on and off through the day.
Raptor Observations: A good count for this time of year, with 10 different species represented, although we were hoping that more TVs would take advantage of the gentle north winds after all of heavy headwinds of the past few days. The largest kettles of TVs contained 5, 5, 5 & 6 birds. We had fun debating the IDs of some of the high-flying accipitrines (Coop? Sharpie?), and picking out hawks in the Raven kettles. We were surprised to see a late Broad-winged Hawk fly by.
In celebration of our 50th anniversary year on Wachusett, here's a look back at events on this date in previous years In 1983, 75 total migrating raptors were counted, including 43 Sharp-shins and 5 each of Red-tails, N Harriers and Amer Kestrels.
In 2016, Rod Chase wrote: "Heavy winds at start kept most birds low except most eagles had good height at one or two points. With wind reduction and warmer air, the main push began. (Eric's note: 64 total migrating raptors, including 13 TVs, 11 Bald Eagles, 15 Sharp-shins and 5 Merlins)" "Other observers: Bill Rasku, Ted Mara and Susan Williamson. Also Dave Smilley, Jerry Bisantz as well as a dozen or so friendly spotters from the thousands of people who topped the (summit) this Columbus Day."
In 2019, Rod Chase wrote: "Marty McNamara left by 2:15 for commitments and I was thinking of leaving at 2:30. I was halfway down the ramp when 2 + 1 AKs popped up on updraft and rocketed west in a gust. Then back on deck I noticed an unusual, large gray cloud shaped like a horseshoe from S to NE. This front was moving to the NW as I stood in strong NE winds. It would bring mist and rain our way but, for a while, summit would be inside this horseshoe. Bonus: so were some raptors. In 20 minutes starting at 2:35 there were 14 TV in 1 strand, 6 SS, 1 CH, 3 RT, 1 AK. Then all shut down as the mist and rain reached the summit. My favorite part of this unique rush was watching them all reaching sunshine and the clean air to the W & SW!"
In 2025, Eric Mueller wrote: "Thank heavens for Turkey Vultures. The hawks and eagles that we counted today were few and far between, so the small groups of migrating TV's (3, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 8) helped make the day's count respectable. (Note: 51 total migrating raptors, including 44 TVs)" "Hundreds of hikers and sightseers enjoying some of the best visibility up here in weeks. We spent much of our spare time identifying the visible hills and mountains to the visitors, or correcting mis-identifications: "Oh wow! That's Mt Washington." "But look. The sign says that it's not visible" "But it's so big. Excuse me, is that Mt Washington?" (me) "No, that's Mt Monadnock" "Are you sure?" (me) "Yes, I'm sure." "Oh." (disappointed)"
Non-raptor Observations: If only Canada Geese were raptors...we counted approximately 1,315 geese today in 22 skeins, 3 of them over 100 birds each. Other birds - Blue Jay-2, Comm Raven-16, various passerines-35.
Predictions: Sunday is expected to be a cloudy day, with temps between 50 and 60 F, moderate humidity and South winds at 4-7 mph. We're hoping that the birds can use the mild headwinds and moderately high cloud headroom to their advantage. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
