Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5.75 hours
Official Counter: Mark Morris
Observers: Cindy Rost, David Brown, Don Singleman, Greg McGuane, Liam Singleman, Ted Purcell, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: Thanks to our crew members today who toughed out some pretty stiff winds in the first 2 hours.
Weather: Clear skies with a few high, wispy cirrus clouds. Temperatures ranged from 53-62 F. Winds were busy from the North to start, 18 mph with gusts to 30 mph, gradually decreasing to a light breeze at the end of the count. Visibility was excellent throughout.
Raptor Observations: Turkey Vultures were in the air early - I had 3 waiting for the gates to open at the base of the mountain. The morning hours featured a small flurry of American Kestrels, followed by a good push of Sharpies and Cooper�s Hawks between 10 and 11 am EST. The 16 Coop's are the 5th highest daily count here at Wachusett, tied with 8 other dates. The crew and I were able to record a respectable 74 migrants, representing 9 species.
In celebration of our 50th anniversary year on Wachusett, here's a look back at events on this date in previous years: In 2019, Rod Chase wrote: "TVs were the biggest contributers to our total yet all appeared before 10:50am. Having another RS was nice but it passed so high above us. An early PG decided he had to repeatedly dive on the BE and did so from under and over. One strike to eagle's back just for emphasis -- no harm done. The two local Cooper's Hawks put on the best show. One came in high and made many close passes, back and forth then higher and lower. Suddenly the 2nd Coop came up from the NE shrubs and began a duel with the original bird." "Visitors - Of note was a gentleman Knut Hansen who spoke with Christine (Restell) for a while and I was pleased to catch the last half. Great talk with an all-smiles birder who loves ocean and shore birds and much more. (Eric's note: Mr Hansen was an airline pilot who was able to bird all over the world. Unfortunately he passed away unexpectedly in 2021 at age 57)
In 2022, the 18th largest Turkey Vulture count (95) in Wachusett Mt history tied with 3 other dates.
In 2023, the 13th largest Merlin count (5) in Wachusett Mt history (tied with 17 other dates). Eric Mueller wrote: "A very good day for mid-October, especially considering that the bulk of the TV migration has yet to come." (note: 119 total raptors, including 34 TVs, 30 Sharpshins, 11 Kestrels and 5 Merlins) "The majority of TVs counted were in a 15 minute period early in the morning - probably a nearby roost. Glenn Deyo hiked up early and spotted the TVs and a couple of Merlins before the gates to the auto road opened up. We rarely see migrating birds that early up here. Good going, Glenn! Jon Skinner made a nice ID on a high-flying N Harrier, and the rest of the team worked hard to ID a lot of fast-moving birds that were streaking by in the stiff winds." "Thanks as always to Joanne for bringing up goodies to share - it keeps us going!"
Non-raptor Observations: Canada Goose-157 (including skeins of 50, 45, 20, 12, 30), D.C.Cormorant-7, Comm Raven-12, Blue Jay-1, Yellow-rumped Warbler-1, finch sp-5 (probably Goldfinches), other passerines (maybe Swallows?) were on the move.
Predictions: We won't conduct a watch on Friday. Rain is expected nearly all day. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
