Observation start time: 08:45:00 Observation end time: 14:30:00 Total observation time: 5.75 hours
Official Counter: Bill Rasku, Eric Mueller
Observers: Bill Rasku, Eric Mueller, Paul Vanderhoof, Tom Gottschang
Visitors: Hundreds of hikers and bikers took advantage of the Veteran's Day holiday and the good weather to come up to the summit. There were many family groups, dozens of dogs of all shapes and sizes, and one Boy Scout troop.
At the NRO, our friend Carl Platts stopped by. Bill talked to a group of about 15 folks from the Holden Hiking Club.
Weather: The nicest weather that we've had in a while - partly cloudy skies for most of the session, temps from 42 to 50 F, light westerly winds and moderate humidity. Visibility was very good with all of the central NH mountains visible except for Mt Washington. The light began to fade as a high shelf of diffuse, almost fog-like clouds moved in from the West around 1:30 pm, presaging the foul weather that's to come over the next two days.
Raptor Observations: Bill Rasku observed from the North Rd overlook from 8:45 am to 2:30 pm, while Eric started observing at the summit at 9:30 and was joined by Paul V and Tom in the early afternoon. The winds were finally light enough and the sunlight strong enough to give all types of birds the migrating conditions they needed. Red-shoulders finally appeared in numbers that we expect this time of year. At the summit, we saw 4 different pairs of Red-shoulders fly by.
Both sites were rewarded with their own adult Golden Eagle sightings - the summit at 10:37 am and the NRO at 12:50 pm. We also had the largest movement of TVs in quite a while, mostly seen down at the NRO. Interestingly, we found no duplications between the two sites for any of the sightings of migrating birds.
In celebration of our 50th anniversary year on Wachusett, here's a look back at events on this date in previous years: In 2017, Rod Chase wrote: "Pileated Woodpecker seen on hike up; nothing at all from summit. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Thanks Tom (Gottschang) for taking a good hike!"
In 2023, the 3rd largest Red-shouldered Hawk count (28) in Wachusett Mt history. Eric Mueller wrote: "The Red-shoulders came on strong today. Their flight is running later than usual this year. Bill and Eric both saw an eagle that could have been a Golden, but couldn't nail down the ID for certain." "Other observers: Bill Rasku, Paul Vanderhoof, Tom Gottschang" "Visitors: At least 250 people who hiked up the mountain, including quite a few families with young kids, plus at least 40 dogs."
Non-raptor Observations: At the summit: gull sp-13, Blue Jay-1, Comm Raven-6, Snow Bunting-5. At the NRO: Barred Owl-1 (heard), Amer Crow-98 (31,10,35,22), BC Chickadee-6, E Bluebird-1, Amer Goldfinch-12, DE Junco-1. Predictions: We won't conduct watches on either Thursday or Friday. Weather forecasts call for rain all day Thursday, and rain on Friday, mixed with snow at higher elevations. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
