Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Mark Morris
Observers: Cindy Rost, Hayley Morway, Joanne Hart, Joe Fountain, Susan Moses, Ted Purcell, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: Sincere thanks to the observers listed above for their help today. Much appreciated!
Other visitors - the usual collection of hikers, bikers and sightseers.
Weather: Cool winds from the North at 5 mph-14 mph with gusts to 21 mph. Some cloud cover to the Southeast for most of the count from a departing ocean storm. Temperatures ranged from 42 F-66 F. Visibility was excellent.
Raptor Observations: The first raptor showed up at 9:55 am EST. We finished the day with 56 migrants from 7 different species. We had flurries of Red Shoulders, Sharpies, and Turkey Vultures with some mid-day lulls. Non-migrating raptors: Black Vulture-3 (spotted by Mark and Susan in the last hour), Bald Eagle-3 (1 ad, 2 imm), Red-tail-2. We didn't notice any non-migrating TVs.
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: "Fog (100% cloud cover) was around all thru our shortened day."� "I went up today fearing the weather forecast but happy to meet Levi Burford from Pack Monadnock. He currently is the counter there 5 days a week and offered to come visit on his 'weekend'. A few hours of enjoying the updates on each site, trading names of folks we've both met and guessing about the effects of climate change on the migration routes of northeastern raptors. I totally enjoyed this otherwise 'slow' day!" Other observers: Eric Mueller and Daryl Turek
In 2020, the 5th largest Cooper's Hawk count (16, tied with 8 other dates), the 12th largest Merlin count (5, tied with 16 other dates), the 19th largest Bald Eagle count (14, tied with 6 other dates) and the 24th largest Turkey Vulture count (80) in Wachusett Mt history. Rod Chase wrote: "What a wonderful early September day -- on Oct. 22! Temp started at 57F but rose quickly and steadily to be 73F in the last two hours. Wind never exceeded 5 mph while wobbling around from W to NW and back all day. Cloud cover from 10 to 30% in the morning allowed the sun to do a good job creating thermal lift and many hawks were able to move slowly but which allowed us to study who was going by." (Eric's note - 180 total raptors including 80 TVs, 28 Sharp-shins, 16 Cooper's Hawks, 15 Red-tails, 14 Bald Eagles, 6 Red-shoulders and 5 Merlins) "Observers: Ted Mara, Bill Rasku, Eric Mueller, Tom Gottschang, Daryl Turek, and a new set of good eyes who came prepared to start learning raptors in earnest. Welcome: Marilyn Cugini."
In 2022, the 10th largest Turkey Vulture count (139) in Wachusett Mt history. Eric Mueller wrote" "The cold temps at the lower elevations really seemed to delay the flight today." "We were having an average late October day with 64 birds counted when a rush of TVs began just after 2:00 PM EST and lasted to 3:30. We ended up with a very respectable total of 161 migrants." "Other observers: Paul Vanderhoof, Rod Chase, Tom Gottschang"
Non-raptor Observations: Comm Loon-2, Canada Goose-4, Blue Jay-2, Comm Raven-10, Amer Crow-20, D.E.Junco-3, finch species-16
Predictions: For Friday - clear skies with low humidity, temps from the low 40's to low 50's, and 8-10 mph North winds with 16-18 mph gusts until about 2 pm. The chilly North winds should bring more birds our way. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
