Top 100 Birding Sites of the World

Information

SITE RANK

HABITAT Mountain ridge, deciduous woodland and forest

KEY SPECIES Raptor passage including many Broad-winged, Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed Hawks and Scarcer species such as Mississippi Kite

TIME OF YEAR Best in autumn, August to mid-December; smaller passage of raptors in spring, April to mid-May

Small size and streaked underparts identify this Accipiter as a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk.

The Kittatinny Ridge is a finger of high ground running for 485 km north to south within the Appalachian Mountain range, on the eastern side of North America. Positioned along this ridge lies Hawk Mountain, one of North America’s most famous wildlife sites. Geography, combined with the fact that migrating raptors are basically lazy, makes this one of the best places on the continent, and indeed in the world, to watch large numbers of eagles, hawks, vultures and falcons passing by.

Raptors tend to be comparatively heavy birds, for whom migration is more of a drain than for most. Many are simply unable to cover large distances if they have to maintain energy-sapping flapping flight for any length of time. Instead, these birds tend to hitch a ride on suitable air-currents, either thermals – spirals of air heated by the ground, circulating upwards – or updrafts caused by wind passing over high ground. During the autumn, thermals are not dependable, so the birds tend to travel on a narrow front following mountain ridges; thus, in the east of North America, there is an Appalachian Flyway, a sort of major route for migrants. Hawk Mountain lies along this route, and is especially favoured because it lies on the eastern side of the mountain range, and the prevailing wind is northwest, typically funnelling the birds right past it.

Hawk-watching has been going on here since 1934, when a certain Rosalie Edge, a pioneering conservationist from New York City, bought the site and surrounding area (the sanctuary now covers 1,050 ha). This means that there are counts covering some 69 years (allowing for a three-year break during World War II), the world’s longest record of raptor counts, and an invaluable reference on how populations have changed. Many species have decreased (the Red-shouldered Hawk, for example) but two, now frequently seen, are comparatively new arrivals, as their respective ranges have advanced northwards in the last few decades. These are the Turkey and American Black Vultures; the most recent ten-year average for these species is 206 and 46 birds per season respectively, but 2005 was a record year for the latter, with 114 birds seen.

The most numerous species at Hawk Mountain is the Broad-winged Hawk (about 6,000 birds per fall season), followed by the Sharp-shinned Hawk (5,000) and the Red-tailed Hawk (3,700). Slightly less numerous but regular species include cut Osprey, American Kestrel, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier and Cooper’s Hawk, the latter usually turning up in singletons and providing an excellent opportunity for comparison with the Sharp-shinned. The keener birders are inevitably enticed by the prospect of rarities, of which only one or two a day might be seen: these include Golden Eagle (94 birds seen per year), Merlin (127), Peregrine Falcon (43) and Northern Goshawk (78). Ten or more species a day is a routine total, ensuring that up to 60,000 people visit Hawk Mountain every year, mostly armed with binoculars.

The migration period lasts from the beginning of August until mid-December, with a few records dribbling in up until mid-January. Different species are numerous at different times: Broad-winged Hawks peak in mid-September, when several hundred may pass in a day, but their passage has virtually petered out by the beginning of October. Red-tailed Hawks, on the other hand, peak much later, in mid-October to early November. Sharp-shinned Hawks have a much longer season, and in fact are seen almost every day until the end of November. Although rarities may be seen at any time, early November (for such species as Golden Eagle and Northern Goshawk) is the best bet.

Hawk Mountain is a convenient place to bird. It is easy to find and has all the facilities one expects in the United States, including a spacious visitor centre and bookshop. In the autumn migration season there are designated hawk-spotters who are stationed on the North and South Lookouts and will call the hawks out as they come over, explaining the differences between them. A trail fee of a few dollars provides you with a map of the site and a chart illustrating the possible birds and, as a further nice touch, the spotters will also hold up wooden silhouettes of each species.

For a birder it is important to get the weather right. Although a day rarely goes by without something being seen, there can be very sharp contrasts even between consecutive days. To take an example: on 12 September 2006, 7,584 birds passed by, mainly Broad-winged Hawks, but also eight other species, whereas on the following three days not a single bird was seen, as the site was fogbound. Therefore birders should, if possible, time visits to coincide with a couple of days after a cold weather front has passed through, leaving north-west winds in its wake. If this happens, constant streams of birds will appear in front the North Lookout, many of which can be seen soaring upwards in groups (known as ‘kettles’); at times there will be wheeling birds in every part of the sky.

In the spring the raptor passage is nowhere near as impressive as in the autumn. The prevailing winds are easterly and keep the travelling birds to a more westerly route. Nevertheless, patient counters regularly watch between late March and the middle of May, and have recorded such totals as 540 Broad-winged Hawks and 170 Sharp-shinned Hawks. The spring also brings visitors a slender chance of seeing a Mississippi Kite, which is rare in these parts.

Spring is also a time to appreciate the other birds that occur at Hawk Mountain. About 150 species breed at the sanctuary each year, mostly associated with the mature oaks, maple and birches. These include an interesting mixture of northern species such as Hermit Thrush and southern species such as Worm-eating Warbler.

Broad-winged Hawk is recorded in large numbers at Hawk Mountain each autumn.

Once a great rarity, Turkey Vulture is now seen regularly at Hawk Mountain, reflecting its overall increase in range and numbers in the northeast of North America.