I decided to head out to Mount Watatic today to do a little hawkwatching and take advantage of the sunny but COLD weather. This particular hawkwatch is led by Tom Pirro and he had quite a few people there (well over a dozen at one point, I believe) to hawk watch, all with various levels and years of hawkwatching experience.
The one thing that became obvious when I first arrived on the summit is that summer is indeed gone as folks were wearing winter coats and gloves (I kid you not). Donna warned me to bring gloves but of course I forgot so was grateful for an extra pair as it was needed up there. The view from Mount Watatic is spectacular and you can actually see Mount Wachusett from there which is shown above. This is also another popular hakwatching site and they have had a couple of really good Brood-winged Hawks days this past week.
On the other side of the summit, you can see Pack Monadnock, another popular hawkwatching site that hasn't been as fortunate as Mount Wachusett for Broad-winged Hawks, but there's always tomorrow!
Everywhere you go on the summit of Watatic offers views of rolling hills and blue skies so even if you don't get that many birds, its always awesome to get up there and I am never disappointed.
While the kettle of Broad-winged Hawks everyone had hoped for never arrived (at least while I was there), there were quite a few Sharp-shinned Hawks that were spotted including the lousy photo above.
And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't include a lousy shot of an Osprey to go with the Sharpie. Notice a pattern here? While we didn't see any significant kettles of any kind of bird, we did get some good views of some Sharp-shinned Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks and a Bald Eagle.
I decided to dilly-dally a little while going up the trail first thing in the AM and was happy to see a small group of Dark-eyed Juncos all gathered along a cluster of trees and making that adorable little one note call I have missed so much. Such cute little birds, but I don't want to see them in my own back yard as of yet because once I do, I know for CERTAIN winter is on its way. For more information on Hawkwatching or to find a site close to you if you want to get involved, please go to Hawkcount.org
Take care all
2 comments:
I've been to a few Hawk watches the last couple of years but this past week was the first time I saw kettles of Broadwings.It's still a nice experience even if the kettles aren't happening.-I was at Blueberry Hill in Mass last year for a day.
Well Larry, it appears as if Blueberry Hill is the place to be this year if you want Broad-wings as they don't seem to be expeincing any kind of shortage in that dept! You are lucky you are so close to it being in CT and all!
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