Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:15:00 Total observation time: 6.25 hours
Official Counter: Kate McKay
Observers: Chuck Carlson, Tom Momeyer
Visitors: 57 visitors, five of them lucky enough to see a Golden Eagle!
Weather: Mostly sunny and warm with some high clouds. Light west winds. Temps rising from 45 to 59 degrees. Little bit of haze, with Mount Washington only visible early and late in the day.
Raptor Observations: The local red-tails and Cooper's Hawk flew around near North Pack but the skies were empty of migrating raptors through 12 o'clock. Then, shortly after 1pm, Chuck spotted an eagle flying with a raven off the left shoulder of North Pack. Quickly determined to be an immature Golden Eagle by the delighted hawkwatchers, the bird flew by Crotched Mountain and over Powder Mill Pond before disappearing behind the spruces. But then it must have decided it wanted to be admired some more, because it soon reappeared above the spruces and circled up against the clear blue sky. Lucky us! Absolutely beautiful bird with gorgeous golden hackles and snowy white wing patches. After several hundred pictures were taken, the Golden bid farewell and flew off towards the southwest.
Not fifteen minutes later, at 1:25pm, another large, dark bird glided over the right shoulder of Crotched. Could it be... no, that would be too good to be true... yes, it is! Another immature Golden! Following a similar flight path as the first bird, it flew along in front of Mount Cardigan, over the pond, and behind the spruces. Time for high fives and hugs. Wait, there's more... At 1:51pm, all eyes turned towards the north yet again as a third immature Golden came into view near the Camel Humps. This bird had darker plumage than the first two, its white wing patches only visible from below. Soaring high above North Pack, it then flew west over Crotched, past Cardigan, over the humpback whale (aka Smarts Mountain), and below horizon, getting gazed at for a full ten minutes before it was lost in the scopes somewhere before Powder Mill Pond. Wow, three Goldens in one hour. What a treat!
In the last hour, two Turkey Vultures flew southeast and a sharpie zipped by through the valley, bringing the day's count to six birds. It's not too often you get to say half the migrants seen today were Golden Eagles! It was refreshing to have good looks at all three Goldens after having only seen three very distant Goldens so far this season. The Golden Eagle count is now at six, and we still have a few more weeks left of November.
Non-raptor Observations: Blue Jay, ravens, chickadees, juncos, and Golden-crowned Kinglets were the only other birds seen today.
Predictions: Even warmer tomorrow, with wind direction shifting more to the south. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kate McKay (<northernjay444...>) Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory information may be found at: www.harriscenter.org
