Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 14:30:00 Total observation time: 6.25 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Megan Gately, Scot Wiinikka, Ted Purcell, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: My sincere thanks to the observers listed above who came up today. Luckily for our small crew, TVs mostly fly low and slow...;-)
At least 1,000 sightseers and hikers on the mountain today to take in the sunny autumn landscape. Many came up on the ski lift from the AppleFest below.
Weather: A strong high pressure system over us brought clear blue skies, temps from 42 to 53 F, and light winds from all points of the compass. Despite the low humidity, there was a light haze that put a slight fuzz around the distant birds. All landmarks including the mid-NH mountains were visible all day. Raptor Observations: The 7th largest TV count in our history - 156. TVs started moving around 9:20 am EST when the thermals began to kick in, and the flight crested in the 11am-12pm EST hour with 74 birds, including kettles of 15, 14 and 12. Very few eagles, either migrating or local, probably due to the light winds. We also had no identifiable falcons. With the weak winds, many of the birds had to soar on the thermals to gain altitude. Most of the birds passed by on the east side of the mountain. The bird of the day was our first Rough-legged Hawk of the season. It didn't come close enough for us to see all of the usual field marks, but a nearby Northern Harrier provided a good comparison. The Rough-leg was a buteo that kept its wings in a dihedral all of the time, and showed a sizable white patch on the rump/upper tail. The tail was long, but not as long as the Harrier's, and its wings were long, but not as narrow as the Harrier's. Its body was also stockier than the Harrier's.
Non-migrating raptors: Black Vulture-4, TV-4, Bald Eagle-3 (1 Juv, 2 Juv/Imm), Red-tail-3 (1 Ad, 2 Juv - maybe more)
In celebration of our 50th anniversary year on Wachusett, here's a look back at events on this date in previous years: In 1997, the 3rd largest daily count of Goshawks (4) in Wachusett Mt history.
In 2022, Eric Mueller wrote: "Will (Martens) sat through about 40 minutes of dense fog until Eric arrived and declared the day a washout based on the dense, low cloud cover everywhere. Luckily Bill (Rasku) and Jack (Miano) later saw signs that the cloud cover was lifting, and came up to save the day." (note: 57 birds counted)
In 2024, the 3rd largest Turkey Vulture count (196) and the 16th largest count of Cooper�s Hawks (14 - tied with 6 other dates) in Wachusett Mt history. Eric Mueller wrote: "The favorite bird of the day for several of us was the Gray Ghost male Northern Harrier that rose up around 3:15 and whose plumage just popped in the rich sunlight." In 2025, the 5th largest Turkey Vulture count (171) in Wachusett Mt history. Eric Mueller wrote: "We enjoyed spending time with Jake, a young birder from Boston and Arlington. We also had a good visit with Emily Milnamow and her friends. Emily used to visit the watch with her father Mark (still active here) when she was a teenager. We were fortunate to have a kettle of about 15 TVs circle right over us while they were there, so Emily could show her friends what hawk watching could be like."
Non-raptor Observations: Blue Jay-2, Comm Raven-25, DE Junco-2.
Predictions: For Monday, another "Blue Screen of Death" sunny sky, with very light ENE winds to start, but increasing to 5-6 mph by noon. Temps from 40 to 58 F, with low humidity. Should be fine conditions for continuing the TV migration, and maybe getting more eagles up. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
