SITE DESCRIPTION

SITE DESCRIPTION:
"The Soddy Mountain hawk lookout is located in southeast Tennessee on the eastern face of Walden's Ridge (the Cumberland Escarpment) in Hamilton County, a short distance north of the town of Soddy-Daisy, TN. It lies at the eastern terminus of Jones Gap Road atop a bluff overloooking Hwy. 111 and the beautiful Tennessee River Valley to the east. The hawk lookout location is state-owned land, and there are currently no restroom or eating facilities nearby. Hawk watchers are advised to bring their own folding lawn chair, sunscreen, a hat, and drinking water, as well as binoculars and a field guide. Caution should be used at all times, especially if children are present, as there is no fence to prevent a fall off the nearby 75 foot bluff. The hawk lookout proper is level ground." *

No Shelter is available, and parking is on a level below the lookout grounds. The climb to the watch site is up a steep bank about 8' high. Other helpful tools might include an umbrella or spotting scope, although on a good day, you might not find time to use either.*

Courtesy of William G. (Bill) Haley, compiler and author of the brochure, Soddy Mountain Hawk Lookout, produced for TOS.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk
Falconer Mr. Johnson's Red-tail

Friday, October 24, 2014

Bill Is Loving Warm Watch Days

Bill Haley is doing his favorite type of Hawk watching - peaceful, warm sunny days, with dabbled clouds and there are several countable kinds of hawks finding lift along the ridge.

He went up Wednesday and Thursday this week for a few hours each day and the following is his report:  (ck out the Species Key page for the hawks represented by the abbreviations)

Wednesday 10/22/14
2 SS
1 CH
1 RS
1 RT

10:30 to 12
__________________

Thursday 10/23/14
1 PG
1ABE
1 SS
1 CH
2 RT
161 TVs
(123 Turkey Vultures in one kettle, then kettles of 5, 11, 8 and 14 - dedicated southward movement)

Bill is up again today, and we might get up tomorrow.  Will post tomorrow with new updates.

If Turkey Vultures are what you see a lot of, now could be a great time to begin counting them.  If you hate counting the high specks, count Red-tails, Red-shouldered and Turkey Vultures. It's that time. Whereas we kept you from counting them during BW season, most are on the move these days.  Many will move south and be replaced with more northern birds --- it is speculated.  But they do move out of the most northern cold climes, and ours definitely desert their nesting habitats and appear again next season. So the dedicated southern flights are migration.  Take time now to learn the lights, darks and immature versions of your most familiar or favorite Raptors. Or the lack of such things. The slower pace of these hawks makes them fun to watch for a long time. See how they fly, if they kite, watch for their silhouettes. Compare sizes if possible, and get to know their details.  Use a hawk guide and use this time to learn about them if you desire to know more.  BW season is fun, but this kind of weather is a more casual, get to know the bird season. Very restful sometimes.

Remember, Hawk migration runs through November for fall season.  Great opportunities for good sightings.  BW's should be past us now, as would be Kites. Most Osprey and Peregrines are counted as coastal birds, but we still have a few. 

Keep looking UP!!!!!!!
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1 comment:

  1. Mel November 3, 2014 at 7:39 PM

    A week ago Sunday I was treated to the spectacle of hundreds of Turkey Vultures fly over our rural Knoxville yard in a band that stretched from the northern to the southern horizon, heading due south on absolutely motionless wings, riding the thermals at not too great an altitude. Astounding. I'm fairly new to raptor watching, but I doubt I can expect to see this very often. The entire band took over twelve minutes to pass out of sight.

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