The Pack Monadnock Raptor Observatory in Peterborough wrapped up its 21st consecutive season in late November. Kate McKay was the 2025 Harris Center Raptor Biologist and served as the official counter five days a week. Other staff and several volunteers filled in the remaining time to provide full coverage for the annual count, which logged over 600 hours of observation time and counted 8,581 raptors of 15 species between Sept. 1 and Nov. 20.
Though the season tally was again below the long-term average, due to a second consecutive year with a reduced count for broad-winged hawks (5,821), the results were mixed in terms of high and low counts of individual species.
The season’s peak day was Sept. 14, when more than half of the season’s total broad-winged hawk flight took place. Over 3,000 broad-wings moved through in spectacular large flocks, known as “kettles,” representing the highest daily tally of this species in several years. This high count came on the earlier side of their historic peak date, which typically falls between Sept. 15 and 20. But the early push did not continue, as the flight again seemed to shift to other ridgelines, as it did in 2024, more a factor of daily weather patterns and less reflective of a diminishing population trend. Despite their relatively low historical count, this common breeding species of the region’s forested areas still represented 68% of the total raptor migration.
Other raptors show more consistency over the years at the Observatory.
Sharp-shinned hawk (1,142), the second most abundant migrant, is one such species. Its average season tally was punctuated by a high count of 130 on Sept. 19, representing the Observatory’s second-highest daily count. This is a welcome positive data point for a species experiencing steep long-term declines at hawk watches around the continent, a factor pointing to the need for further research on causes of decline of this secretive northern forest breeder.
Above-average tallies were noted for several species.
Most notable was the increase in numbers of black vulture (6), setting a new season high count. This opportunistic scavenger continues to expand its range northward and has now become expected, but observers were still a little surprised to see them on multiple days. Northern harrier (122), a state-endangered species, fell just shy of its historic season high of 125. Further, observers were able to age over 80% of the migrant harriers, determining that three of every four were juveniles. This may point to a successful breeding season in places to our north and east.
American kestrel (196), another species of open country, had a strong showing. Forty-two were seen migrating on Sept. 14th, representing the second-best day in the project’s history for this charismatic little raptor. Nest box projects, like the one launched by the Harris Center in recent years, may be starting to show promising results for this species in decline.
Species slightly above their historic averages consisted of turkey vulture (222), bald eagle (170), and Cooper’s hawk (191), which is the highest since 2006. An impressive 17 Cooper’s hawks passed the watch on Sept. 11, tying the second-highest single-day count. Each of these species has experienced significant upward population trends in recent years.
As usual, there were also species that fell below their long-term average counts.
This included osprey (167), red-tailed hawk (264), merlin (80), and peregrine falcon (30) missing their historic averages only slightly. The osprey and red-tail have seen long-term declines in migration, while the merlin and peregrine have shown the opposite trend, according to data compiled through the Raptor Population Index. This useful tool, which Pack’s data contributes to, measures raptor populations over time.
More concerning were those that fell well below long-term averages.
American goshawk (13) showed another lackluster season, but each sighting of this uncommon, northern raptor was a memorable one and generated considerable excitement. The Harris Center has monitored breeding goshawks in the Monadnock region for several years and recently participated in a regional effort to monitor breeding populations in the northeast, which continue to decline. Red-shouldered hawk (104) is generally a late-season migrant, but its peak never seemed to come this season. Despite the long-term population trend being generally positive in the northeast, this season’s paltry tally was the lowest since 2011. Finally, another uncommon migrant, the golden eagle (5), had a sparse showing this season, but each sighting of this spectacular large raptor was quite special for those lucky enough to bear witness.
It’s not just raptors that our biologists tally at Pack; all bird species are recorded on daily eBird checklists. This season saw northern specialty birds such as pine and evening grosbeaks, white-winged crossbill, and northern shrike, uncommon waterfowl including flocks of brant, and a bona fide rarity – the Observatory’s third record of a Townsend’s solitaire, making Pack the undisputed hotspot in all of New Hampshire for this western vagrant!
Kate and other observers tallied monarch butterflies (which surpassed 500 this season), a higher count than in recent years, as well as migratory dragonflies, and more. An invasive spotted lanternfly was identified at the Observatory in late September, furnishing one of the region’s first records for this incoming potential threat.
Human visitors get counted, too, and the Harris Center team welcomed 6,449 total visitors during the 2025 season — both area residents and visitors alike — including those from many different countries. Observatory events consisted of the raptor release event, in which three rehabilitated broad-winged hawks — all subject to rodenticide poisoning — were released in front of a large crowd of spectators during the peak of their migration in late-September; the annual “Big Sit” birding event, which tallied 33 species on World Migratory Bird Day in mid-October; and the “Big Soup,” a friendly soup competition hosted by hawk watch volunteers in early November.
Harris Center educators worked with nine visiting school groups at the Observatory, an investment in the next generation of naturalists and raptor enthusiasts. An anecdote that summarizes this impact came from volunteers, Glen and Lori Chretien, who witnessed an impromptu performance at a local pizza restaurant from an elementary school student who had visited the Observatory earlier in the day. This young girl demonstrated the flight habits of buteos versus accipiters, complete with a song that Harris Center naturalists teach students to help them learn the differences between these classic raptor families.
A big thanks goes to our site partner, Miller State Park, NH Parks, and the Division of Natural and Cultural Resources, for championing our efforts and welcoming us each year.
I’ll end with an excerpt from Kate McKay’s season summary, which will be available shortly in the season’s final report:
“I would like to extend a huge thank you to all our volunteers, visitors, and supporters. It has been such a pleasure getting to know so many of you over the last few months and spending time together hawkwatching. I’m extremely grateful for the welcoming community at Pack and the Harris Center, and the work we do would not be possible without the help of our volunteers. I’m going to miss driving up the mountain in the morning, searching for the first raptor of the day, feeding the songbirds, and watching the hawkwatch bunnies, but most of all, I’m going to miss you guys.”
Phil Brown is Bird Conservation Director at the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock and can be reached at brown@harriscenter.org.