September 14, 2024
We arrived at the parking lot of Pack Monadnock under sunny skies and a light breeze. Gathering our lunches, water and assorted gear, someone called 'Broad-winged Hawks!' Our hawk watch had begun.
We were hoping these early sightings would bode well for the rest of the day just as another raptor drifted over our heads- -a Northern Harrier, one of eight* spotted on the mountain today. And we hadn’t even unpacked our cameras yet! (*Numbers reported by hawkcount.org for the entire day.)
Hawk watching doesn’t involve a lot of walking. This summit observatory is well marked so within minutes we had joined others on the prominent stone platform where the count takes place. Hawks have been tallied in Miller State Park in Peterborough, NH every fall since 2005 by the Harris Center for Conservation Eduction. SSBC’s former president, Nate Marchessault, works for the Harris Center and is an official counter and observer. Ever vigilant, within minutes Nate called out the sole gull seen, an immature Herring Gull.
Throughout the morning we enjoyed a steady drift of migrating Broad-winged Hawks, ‘kettling’ southwards in groups ranging in size between a few to thirty plus. More than 400 Broad-winged Hawks were counted today. Sharp-shinned Hawk numbers were also strong, totaling 56, whereas only six Cooper’s Hawks were tallied. Ten American Kestrels were recorded, at least a couple seen well by our group and everyone was riveted as the two Merlins recorded repeatedly chased each other across the open sky. We had great looks at Bald Eagles and for those of us used to seeing Osprey near the ocean, it was thrilling to see a couple individuals (seven counted) soaring over the rocky White Mountains.
In the ‘other than hawks’ category, Ravens were plentiful, calling and wheeling overhead. We also saw silent Turkey Vultures teetering past.
In the “completely other sightings” category, you could almost hear the collective gasp when a brilliant white glider plane appeared high in the sky, soaring almost as majestically as any bird seen.
One of us looked down to find a massive spider crawling up his leg, which, once shaken onto solid ground, presented an identification challenge for even some of the most avid hawk watchers.
We found large Darner dragonflies on the summit and wished we could have identified a big bee species seen flying by many.
There’s still time to get out and watch hawks on Pack Monadnock!Observers will be at the summit every day, all day, until November 15.
We folded up our backpacks, chairs and optics around three in the afternoon, sadly missing one of the ‘best’ birds of the day, alas!! But we all enjoyed a serene walk through the mature Sheldrick Forest Reserve in Wilton, where we stood in awe among towering, ancient trees, and wondered about changes over time and what lies ahead within these great northern woods.
-Kim Wylie
No comments:
Post a Comment