Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5.75 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Joe Fountain, Lena Ficco, Scott Carlson
Visitors: Many thanks to Lena, Joe and Scott for coming up on a cold, windy day.
We were honored by a visit from the sister-in-law and her husband of our late team member, Christine Restell. They wanted to experience the place that Christine loved so much.
Over 100 sightseers and hikers, including a group from the Andover Council on Aging, and some of the participants at a conference down at the ski area.
Weather: The nor'easter storm moving slowly up the East Coast continued to funnel solid NE winds our way, with gusts from 15-17 mph that diminished in the last few hours of our session. Temps rose from 41 to 50 F. Humidity was moderate, and visibility was very good everywhere except to the East where haze and a shelf of clouds along the coast made Boston difficult to see. Most of the cloud cover was high and thin until 1 pm when it thickened noticeably.
Raptor Observations: A few birds appeared early on. The first kettle of 7 TVs appeared just after 10 am EST but then it was back to onesy-twoseys until 12:45 pm when a group of 9 showed up and then 14 more at 1:05 pm. The morning TVs flew by on the East side, while the afternoon TV appeared to our North and flew by on the West side. The counts of the 7 other species were all in the low single digits. A fair number of birds used the wind to rise quite high while migrating.
Non-migrating raptors: Black Vulure-1, TV-4, Bald Eagle-6 (2 Ad, 3 Imm, 1 Juv), Red-shoulder-1, Red-tail-4 (2 Ad, 2 Juv)
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: "Thanks to spurts of Turkey Vultures our count is 84 and not '33'. Two Red-shouldered hawks added some spice and the accipiters and Red-tailed hawks thickened the broth." "Other observers: Daryl Turek and Eric Mueller. Also several visitors who were excited to point out possible migrants. Quite a congenial group where facts and knowledge passed both ways. Welcome and thank you again."
In 2022, the 7th largest Turkey Vulture count (154) in Wachusett Mt history. Eric Mueller wrote: "A very good day for late October with TV's again dominating the count. Many of these birds probably stayed down yesterday in the strong winds. The Red-tail count is edging upwards, and it's interesting to see Ospreys still coming through this late in the season. The last bird of the day was a beautiful Sharp-shinned Hawk that passed through within 100 yards of the summit at 3:47 pm, and gave us a great view."
In 2025, Eric Mueller wrote: "Our second Golden Eagle of the season flew over fairly low, right over the tower. We also had 3 more Black Vultures go by, still a bit of a rarity here." (After I left) "Bill Rasku had reported an unidentified raptor. After reviewing his description, I suggested that it might have been a dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk. Bill immediately agreed that his description fit a Rough-leg to a tee. A life bird for Christine Restell who viewed it with him, and the 4th time in the past 6 years when we've had a Golden Eagle and a Rough-leg on the same day." "Other observers: Cindy Rost, Lisa Burwell, Marty McNamara, Ted Purcell, Tom Gottschang."
Non-raptor Observations: Blue Jay-1, Amer Crow-5 (migrating), Comm Raven-4, BC Chickadee-1.
Predictions: For Thursday, the nor'easter storm will move enough to shift our winds to come out of the North, averaging 9-12 mph, with gusts from 20-24 mph. Skies will be cloudy at first but change to fully sunny by 1 pm, with temps rising concurrently from 45 to 60 F. Humidity should be moderate in the morning and very low in the afternoon. Winds in northern New England will be from NW to N, which should push birds our way. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
