Observation start time: 09:30:00 Observation end time: 13:30:00 Total observation time: 4 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Jean Hampel
Visitors: Many thanks to Jean for coming up today to help out.
Hundreds of hikers (and their dogs), bicyclists and people riding the ski lift up from the BooFest down below. We got to talk to quite a few people about our work here. Next weekend will be the last festival down at the ski area - Food Trucks (pumpkin-spiced everthing!) $14 admission (in advance) includes a ski lift ride to the summit (day of event prices at least $5 higher).
Weather: Fine weather for Nov 1, and it should have been fine for migration. Sunny, 4-7 mph westerly winds with occasional gusts of 10-14 mph. Temps were 40-50 F with moderate humidity. Visibility was fine, with just enough haze to obscure Mt Washington.
Raptor Observations: There was no weather-related reason that I could see for today's low count. The local birds circled up easily and the light West winds didn't seem to cause any issues for the migrants that we did see. We didn't have anyone down at the North Rd overlook to look for low flying birds, so no telling how many passed by below our sightlines from the summit.
Non-migrating raptors: Black Vulture-2, TV-2, Bald Eagle-3 (2 Ad, 1 Juv), Red-tail-2.
In celebration of our 50th anniversary year on Wachusett, here's a look back at events on this date in previous years: 1992 - 2 Goshawks spotted from the summit. The 17th highest total of Red-shouldered Hawks (13, tied with one other date) and the 2nd highest total of Red-tailed Hawks (57) in Wachusett Mt history spotted down at the Oxbow site.
2017 - Rod Chase wrote from Bill Rasku�s notes: "Zero hawks from 9am - 2pm (when I ran out of tea). But I'm sure the walk did me good. I'm learning about those South winds ... hawks are not fans!" "I suppose even a no hitter is instructive. Maybe I should join a helicopter counting group."
In 2021, Eric Mueller wrote: "A bright, clear, but very windy day. Winds were from the west at 10-14 mph all day with frequent gusts up to 27 mph." "Only 11 migrants counted today. We believe that the wind either kept most birds down altogether, or if they did move today, it kept them down below our sightlines. However, today's count puts us over the 7,000 bird milestone for the season." "Observers: a nice turnout for our first day of hiking up - Bill Rasku with his friend Kurt Mangsen, Eric Mueller, Paul Vanderhoof, Jean Hampel and Marty McNamara."
Non-raptor Observations: The Snow Buntings continue to hang around the summit - 14 today. Only 3 Comm Ravens, 3 Blue Jays and 1 E Bluebird.
Predictions: We won't be conducting a watch on Monday. I have a scheduling conflict, and coincidentally there will be strong WSW winds, so I don't expect many birds will be moving anyway. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
