Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Bill Rasku, Eric Mueller
Observers: Bill Rasku, Marilyn Cugini, Ted Purcell
Visitors: We started the day on a terribly sad note as we learned of the passing of our dear friend and hawk watcher here, Christine Restell. She was on our mind the entire day, but we were cheered whenever we spotted an Osprey, one of her favorite raptors. Maybe little messages from her...
Thanks to Ted and Marilyn who arrived in the early afternoon and doubled our coverage as we dodged around the massive holiday crowd on the platform. We also got help from Lance Latham, and from a young man named Vihaan who spotted a Merlin with us. Scott and Justine Wahlstrom stopped by for a visit, and we had a really nice conversation with Zak and Caroline about our mission here.
Weather: Clouds that had covered the summit after last night's heavy rain were already lifting when Bill arrived, but still covered the peaks of Mt Monadnock and Pack Monadnock for another 30 minutes after which the skies cleared almost completely. Around 10 am EST, a low shelf of clouds approached from the north and covered our area, cutting off a lot of light, until 2 pm when the skies cleared almost completely again. Despite the high to moderate humidity, the air was quite clear and Mt Washington could be seen any time distant clouds didn't block the view. Temps rose from 54 to 64 F. After a bit of gustiness in the first hour, the winds alternated from 4-7 mph to 8-12 mph in 2 hours blocks for the rest of the session. Raptor Observations: The day started slowly with no birds spotted until 9:58 EST. Turkey Vultures finally came through in large numbers today. The 103 bird count was the 15th highest TV count ever here at Wachusett, with groups of 24, 9, 8, 7, 6 and several 5's, as well as smaller numbers. Bald Eagles and Sharp-shins did well with counts of 14 each.
In celebration of our 50th anniversary year on Wachusett, here's a look back at events on this date in previous years: In 1981, the 24h largest Sharp-shinned Hawk count (76) in Wachusett Mt history
In 2014, the 4th largest Cooper�s Hawk count (17) in Wachusett Mt history. 115 total migrating raptors counted, including 49 TVs, 23 Sharp-shins and 8 Bald Eagles. Observers Bill Rasku and Ted Mara. Rod Chase wrote: "Visitors - Frank from Westford, MA, Rachael Walters & Family, 4,000 to 5,000 leaf-peekers who hiked, drove or rode the ski-lift (whew!)"
In 2019, Rod Chase wrote: "Humidity 100%, fog at start. I decided to try lower lookouts in morning. North lookout was fogged early and 200 yds/183 meters was not promising so I moved to the third ski slope above the up/down roads intersection." "Saw hiker Bill early. When asked why I was up, I explained what addiction can do to people. Anything for a laugh. Fine conversations with a few hikers and the folks in the parking lot who recognized me from newspaper articles and had lots of good questions."
In 2021, Eric Mueller wrote" "at 9:00 AM EST, the fog that enveloped the land west of the mountain rose and blew over us, blinding us for 80 minutes. The fog/cloud white-out occurred just as a kettle of 17 TV's followed by 3 more TV's headed south. I'm pretty sure we missed quite a few birds while blinded. At least we got to see some of TV's that have been teasing us for days finally migrate." "The bird of the day was the single Broad-winged Hawk that Mark located and ID'ed. It now takes the site record for the latest date a BW was ever seen here." (note: later exceeded on 10/20/24)
In 2022, Eric Mueller wrote: "Approx. 40 to 50 visitors to the summit who were a bit disappointed with the hazy view. Two State Troopers rode up on their horses and posed for pictures with the public." "Approx. 90 students and teachers from the Walnut Hill School in Natick walked up and spent several hours on the summit. 20 or so of the young women took part in an interesting demonstration of body positivity."
Non-raptor Observations: Canada Goose-33 (skeins of 24 & 9), Blue Jay-2, Amer Crow-1, Comm Raven-5, Ring-billed Gull-6.
Predictions: We won't conduct a watch on Tuesday. Rain is expected overnight tonight and into mid-morning, with fog and more rain in the early afternoon. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
