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

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

The Barometer Dropping - Our Best Friend

Gray Hairstreak on my dusty foot..
Jimmy just figured the talley -
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016
 236 BW's and 1 Sharpie, 1 Cooper's.

That classic BW flash.  Silver Wings, Band in the tail.
 

 Hugh Barger joined Roi, Debbie, Bill, Jimmy and I, knowing it would be a difficult day to get on the hawks. I believe he saw a few, and got good looks at our Bald Eagles which want to fly around like Vultures, lately. 2 Flew south very high, and he wondered why we didn't just count them at least, but we felt pretty sure they were just the same Adult pair which played in every area of the sky today. We must have at least 2 Adult pairs, maybe 3. That's never really occurred before. Someone told Hugh that seeing one in this area was a little rare. They just haven't been to the Hawk watch in fall.
LOL


  Our best kettle of BWs was 33 today.



Forgive the short post, just plain tired. LOL

Soooo many beautiful Butterflies.  Just not enough Monarchs.  Lot's of Gulf Fritilaries and  Sulphurs.   I think I spelled both of those wrong.  Oh well, you know...Sorry. And a variety of wildflowers on the banks.  Wild Ageratum is my fave.

There are times during these blue sky, hot days that we get a little listless, until someone gets on hawks.  Would love to see it cool off just a bit. 

The Barometric pressure has become our best friend..IF it is dropping.  Wishing for a pressure around 30.10 and dropping early in the day tomorrow!

Come if you can...
And always, this time of year...
KEEP LOOKING UP!!!

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