According to the latest update of our Blog stats, we have had 10,521 views of the Blog. I am thankful for those who have followed us, over the last few years, and especially those who have been able to also join us on the mountain.
This year, Jimmy and I will not be about getting numbers. We look to the skies even today, and wonder how many hawks have already begun to move by the lookout. It is bittersweet, to make the choice to be there only a few days out of the season. But In order to preserve not just our health but that of our fellow watchers, we have decided it's best.
We choose, as many of you know, to go up during Broad-wing activity, due exclusively to the numbers and how they tend to gather into thermals. It makes getting other and newer watchers on the birds, a little easier sometimes, and also encourages people to look for and learn about the process of Hawk Migration as a whole.
I was working in my back yard garden recently, and heard the call of a Broad-wing. I looked up to see it circling close over the treetops, and wondered had I just seen my first migrant of the year. Which brings up a subject I want to discuss anyway. You don't have to be on a Hawk watch site, to watch migrant hawks. We hawk-watchers seek such sights for their broad viewing range, the rising thermals and wind rushes that push up the banks and cliffs, and because it's just higher.
I have seen fairly large kettles of Broad-wings from the road I live on in the valley. We also used to think we were the southernmost watch along the eastern mountain flyway, not being able to discover one in North Ga. But found, last year, that a couple in Alabama, on flat farm land, have manned a watch for several years now. And they see large numbers of hawks. And they should - because they are directly on the directional line, of where we normally expect our hawks to go, when they fly out toward the SW from us. Those watchers, have given us more evidence, of when and where the hawks fly, as they move toward the Texas border, where they gather by the 10 thousands before heading into Mexico and destinations further south.
Knowing when to look is the key. So for those of you new to the Hawk Watching family, the best weeks in our area to see kettles of hawks migrating through, is from the 15th of September through the first week of October. The very best time is immediately before a front moving through, or immediately after, especially if it brings a lot of rain. Hawks in the area will often escape before the weather sets in, and those further north which were moving our way, will sit the weather out, dry their wings, hunt for food, and get underway again. So if the clouds break, head toward the watch. Occasionally, large numbers sit out the weather in the trees of the valley around the hawk watch. On these days, it has been possible to see what we believed were "lift offs". The rising of a few to several dozen hawks from the trees. There have been days we felt hawks set down for the evening just north of us, when, in the morning, they began coming over the ridge one after the other, flying low along the bluff, or scooting along the highway beneath us.
There are some dull days, and many have come to help us watch and never see a single raptor other than the Vultures or locals. Some have stayed all day, only to leave and hear reports later of us seeing hundreds. My heart aches when this happens. And there are days we are counting hawks high in blue skies which, just due to experience, we may get on and can't get anyone else on. We have to continue counting to be effective, but sometimes, I wish we could just take time to get out a scope or share binoculars, or do something to help the disappointed looking skyward, be able to see them.
So...What I think our year will be about this year, is to be less about numbers and more about trying to help people see the hawks. I hope we can be successful, because it depends on a lot of things happening. But I know I am not going to keep my binocs constantly on the sky 8 hours a day the way I have. I pray the hawks will fly low and there will be way more clouds than there have been this summer. If you are inclined to help us pray, pray for some cooler weather. I for one, would appreciate it.
In my next post, I have a little something special Jimmy found to kick off the Blog officially. I hope you will share our Blog, and our Facebook page with others. To find the Facebook page, type "Soddy Mountain Hawk Watch" into the search line. Our page will come up. "Like" it and and choose how to follow us.
We tend to give up do date links, and immediate info there. We tend to give stats and stories here. If you are new to the blog, be sure to spend some time looking around on the pages. There is a page dedicated to old stats, one to directions, and some to identification. Several other pages are on the side bar as well. Follow us here, or simply like the Facebook page, and we will supply links as I post. Please feel free to leave messages or post comments on the Facebook page. It isn't formal, just hoping to be informational. Looking forward to seeing some of our dear friends again. and will be totally thankful for every eye to the sky. Thanks in advance to all who are willing!
It is now time to begin:
Keep LOOKING UP!
Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson
Post Script: One of our Hawk-watchers has been on a long-time quest to see a real Moose in the wild/ and here is his Quest is Finished! blog - http://moosequest.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-quest-finished.html
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