Thought I was reading a typo, but Mt. Wachusett in central Massachusett 
had another huge day today, with more than 12,000 birds.

They've now got a season total for this year so far of over 34,000, far 
and away the biggest that site has had in the 30 years or so it's been 
regularly manned during Broad-Wing migration.  And over most of the last 
10 years, the site has usually counted fewer than 10,000 over the 
season, sometimes not much more than half that many.

The much lower altitude hawkwatch site at Barre Falls, well south of 
Wachusett, has also had so far a spectacular season, with numbers far 
above what they usually get.

It's so tempting to start speculating about an unusually good breeding 
year up north for BWs or some other factor that's boosted the numbers, 
but these numbers are really only a very vivid demonstration of the 
vagaries of catching the hawk migration in progress.

Somebody once worked out that the most distant hawk the size of a BW you 
could pick up with good optics is about a mile maximum, and it'll be a 
pinprick at that distance even then.  So unless the birds are streaming 
close by your site, you won't see them, meaning the atmospheric 
conditions and winds not just where you are but also well north of you 
can end up sending thousands of them right past your site but just far 
enough out of range that you won't even know it.

Whew.  What a week they've had at Mt. Wachusett!

Jane
(Shoreham)




On 9/18/2013 9:09 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> Mount Wachusett
> Princeton, Massachusetts, USA
> Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 18, 2013
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
> Osprey                       9             96            104
> Bald Eagle                   8             56             56
> Northern Harrier             1             11             12
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          10            126            133
> Cooper's Hawk                5             30             33
> Northern Goshawk             0              1              1
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk        12272          34331          34352
> Red-tailed Hawk              0              5              5
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel             4             22             25
> Merlin                       6             13             15
> Peregrine Falcon             3              7              7
> Unknown Accipiter            1              2              2
> Unknown Buteo                0              1              1
> Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
> Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
> Unknown Raptor               1             35             35
>
> Total:                   12320          34736          34781
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Observation start time: 08:00:00
> Observation end   time: 16:45:00
> Total observation time: 8.75 hours
>
> Official Counter:        Steve Olson
>
> Observers:        Bill LaFleche, Paul Roberts, Rod Chase, Ursula Goodine
>
> Visitors:
> OBSERVERS: Ed Armstrong, Judy & Guy McGuune, Paul Dufault, Ryan Merrill,
> Karyn Lundberg, Paul Roberts, Bill LaFleche, Road Chase, Dave Brown, Ursula
> & David Goodine, Steve (?), Drew Vitz (Mass State Orthinologist), JUdy
> Gordon, George Gove, Steve Olson.
> Many visitors who arrived after reading reports of raptor activities over
> the past week.
>
>
> Weather:
> Temp- Low 40's in am. Low 60s in pm. Clear-no clouds, haze on the horizon.
> Wind-8mph with 11 mph gusts in am, as day continued, wind dropped to 7mph
> but varied from NNW to W to SW. Difficult to bird with no contrasting
> clouds.
>
> Raptor Observations:
> An exceptional day for Broad-winged movement. Many of the kettles were
> scope birds but definitely there. Another great Bald Eagle day. 5 Mature
> Bald Eagles and 3 immature birds. Surprising number of Merlins around.
>
> Non-raptor Observations:
> Turkey Vultures-6, Ravens-2, Commorants-2, and Chimney Swifts-3(went after
> a mature Bald Eagle)!
>
> Predictions:
> Sunny, Warmer. Wind maybe from NW. Clear. Warm front moving in for next
> several days.
> ========================================================================
> Report submitted by  ()
> Mount Wachusett information may be found at:
> www.massbird.org/emhw
>
>
>
>
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