Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 4.75 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Bill Rasku, Paul Vanderhoof
Visitors: Lots of hikers and sightseers with their dogs on the summit. Scott Carlson stopped by to say hello.
Weather: A mostly cloudy day, with various layers of clouds. Moderate haze to the N & W, and heavy haze to the E. Neither Boston, Mt Greylock nor the VT mountains were visible all day. Winds were higher than predicted - averaged 8-12 mph with occasional gusts to 15 mph. Temps ranged from 61 to 76 F.
Raptor Observations: A bit of improvement over yesterday, with 5 migrating birds passing by, all of different species. The Northern Harrier hadn't finished its molt - P7's and two center tail feathers were still growing back in.
Thanks to Bill Rasku and Paul Vanderhoof for their help today.
Non-migrating raptors: the local raptors weren't as numerous as yesterday, but once they appeared, they gave us some interesting looks. Black Vulture-1, TV-7, Bald Eagle-2 (adults), Cooper's Hawk-1, Red-tail-2 (adults), Amer Kestrel-1 (gave one of the TVs a hard time).
In honor of our site's 50th anniversary this year, we'll take a look back at interesting occurences in past years. On this date in 2017, Rod Chase wrote: "Such a quiet morning! Don Richardson hiked up today, as did 2 young ladies who brought a ukulele and proceeded to serenade us for an hour. Then they walked over to the East overlook and sang some more -- which was easily heard, still, from the observation deck. As people started arriving for the eclipse, though, I headed off for home."
Non-raptor Observations: Non-raptors: goose sp-20, Chimney Swift-15, R-T Hummingbird-1, D-C Cormorant-43 (single skein), Downy WP-1, R-E Vireo-1, Comm Raven-10 (kept us entertained all session), Barn Swallow-3, swallow sp-4, Gr Catbird-1, Cedar WW-2, E Towhee-2.
Predictions: Cloudy, with 7-9 mph NE winds, high humidity and temps in the high 60's to low 70's. Still a better forecast than the rain that was predicted 2 days ago. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
More site information at hawkcount.org:https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=228
