Best Fall Hawk Migration Season in a Decade at Mount Watatic
The 2020 Fall raptor migration at Mount Watatic was the best in a decade. As an official counter, this season reflected a new personal best for me as well; easily the greatest count in my six years on Watatic.
Hawk watchers logged 124.75 hours over 18 days of coverage at Watatic; an increase of 30 hours from 2019. The season total of 6,683 migrant raptors was more than double the disappointing 2019 count. Wonderful September weather proved to be the norm again, allowing us to count for the better part of 14 straight days in the middle of peak Broad-winged season.
Surreal Sky Conditions Due to Western Wildfires
Weather conditions took a turn for the surreal on September 15th, as the cloudless sky over New England was not blue, but colorless or pale brown for much of the day. Smoke residue from West Coast wildfires, thousands of miles away, hung in the air and tainted every inch of sky. September 16th was again cloudless and gray-brown, and the scientific term “vertically-integrated smoke” became a buzzword of many discussions.
COVID-19 meant that all of our watchers were masked for the duration of the season and socially distanced on the summit. Mountain use was noticeably up, with large crowds of hikers on weekends and a parking crunch created by restrictions on Route 119. For the first time in years, a Black Bear was sighted during hawkwatch hours, traversing the Powerline Trail near the base.
Last year, 64 migrating Bald Eagles were enough to set a new all-time seasonal standard. This year, that number was obliterated, as the count reached 103 Bald Eagles by the end of September. Our accipiter numbers (267 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 55 Cooper’s Hawks) were up compared to last year. We also doubled our count of Osprey (74) and American Kestrel (82) from 2019.
Biggest Hawkwatch Days of Fall 2020
The September 18th flight was the highest for all three sites in our region this year. Our total count of 3,078 raptors was the highest single-day flight since 2014. The early flight was unlike any I have ever seen. The morning was foggy and the cloud ceiling was exceptionally low, just a few hundred feet over the summit. Dense kettles of Broad-wings rose from the ground, crept towards the mountain, and then vanished into the ceiling. Processions of hawks emerged out of nowhere from the clouds overhead, streaming into perfect view for a few seconds, and then evaporating directly into another section of cloud. We counted 1,500 hawks before lunch and then 1,300 more birds after 4pm, bookending this monumental day. Eight other triple-digit count days kept us busy on either side of our September 18th peak.
Hope springs eternal as the 2021 Fall migration season is just around the corner. Please reach out if you are interested in contributing to the Watatic count this coming September!
Full Season Details at Hawkcount.org: https://hawkcount.org/month_summary.php?rsite=229&ryear=2020&rmonth=09&sec=prevs
