Adding the Red-tailed Hawk for the First Time This Season

October 20, 2025 Nearing the end of the month and it's time to add the Red-tailed Hawk. And one came through with a migratory mind, so Bill could count it. LOL It flew South or SW from beginning to end, is what that means. Here's the report:

Looking Back to the Same Dates in 2018

By accident, I landed on the posts for this week when a random search in our search bar for Bald Eagle put me precisely on the same date as I was posting. Maybe an accident for me, but search is probably set up that way? But I just had to post it. It will probably run all together since the Blog changed a couple of years ago and I missed the deadline. I hope it is still readable: Soddy Mountain hawk totals Thurs., Oct. 18, 2018 Coverage (all times EST): 0800 - 1515 = 7.25 hrs. Counter: Bill Haley Helper: Ian Riley Weather: Clouds (thin Cirrus) 40% @ 0800, decreasing to 20% @ 0900, and gradually to 10% @ 1200. At 1300 clouds were 20%, but they were all behind us. Some clouds began forming in front of us @1400, 25%. By 1500 they were thicker "mackerel clouds" at 75%. Wind was N all day 5-15 mph. Temperature ranged from 53 F - 65 F. Barometric pressure started 30.40, was 30.43 from 1000-1200, then went down to 30.37 by 1500. Humidity 59% - 44%. Visibility was an excellent 70 K all day. Hawks: (all times EST) 0800: SS 2 0900: TV 31, SS 1 1000: 0 1100: SS 3, RS 1 1200: OS 1, SS 2, CH 1 1300: TV 7 1400: NH 1, SS 1 Raptor totals: 10/18/18 Turkey Vulture 38 Osprey 1 Northern Harrier 1 Sharp-shinned 9 Cooper's 1 Red-shouldered 1 _______________ Total Raptors = 51 Other sightings: Blue Jay 43 Monarch butterfly 5 I welcomed Ian Riley to the lookout for his first visit today. He has very sharp eyes and found several birds I would have missed. It was good to have his help and I will look forward to seeing him up there again. I shared some ID pointers and filled him in on the origins and history of the sport of hawkwatching. He first heard of hawkwatching when he stopped at a birding site while on a trip in Michigan and learned there was also a hawk watch nearby. This made him curious to see if there were any in Tennessee, and that's how he found us. Thanks again for the help today, Ian! You are welcome any time, and maybe the hawks will be flying better next time. Got a first large group of 31 migrant Turkey Vultures, with a later group of 7. Hope to see many more in the next few days. A late Osprey and Northern Harrier were nice too. Reporting: William G. Haley, Jr" The new numbers are up on Hawkcount.org. Jimmy had a few minutes to catch them up. Compare our numbers with other sites, and I challenge you to find out our Eagle total for the year while you are there. Turkey Vultures are beginning to move. Their numbers could really set this year's totals on a high note if someone is there to see them. Bill continues to watch through this week end. Thank you Ian! Hope you will continue to KEEP LOOKING UP!!! Posted by Soddy Mountain Hawk Watch at 8:48 PM

Saturday's Post and Sunday's Note

October 18 and 19, 2025 - Saturday and Sunday. We were preparing for the cold front the weekend brought in. Lots of rain. But Bill pulled out a few raptors just before it hit. Although it did not rain later on Sunday, winds were still pretty bad, and weather directions just weren't good for flights. Plus it was a bit much if you were unprepared for it on the hill, as a human. Bill decided to call it a day on Sunday. I'll put up both posts, Saturday first followed by Sunday:

First Golden Eagle of the Year! Oct. 17, 25

October 17, 2025 Friday: This is one of Bill's favorite kinds of days. Topped of with a Golden Eagle in the noon hour. Great looks too. YAY Here's the report:

Bill Found a Couple of Hours to Ck out the Watch

October 16, 2025 -Some days you just feel like the blue skies will have you skunked, but you go anyway just to see. This was probably how Bill felt yesterday. Not a cloud around down here in the valley. I did, however, see a lift off of Black Vultures about 9:30 from an area where they normally don't spend the night, as my daughter and I were going shopping. But even if I did suppose they were on the move. just due to that location, I wouldn't consider them migrating on that day without much closer observation. It's not often Black Vultures are counted until later in November, maybe. But on this clear blue sky day, Bill didn't get to count anything! It's OK. We have sat all day in the past years, occasionally, and not seen a single hawk.

If You Have a Couple of Hours, Copy Bill

Oct 15, 25 Wednesday. If you have a couple of hours, do what we always close the blog with - KEEP LOOKING UP! Only this time of year when you are looking at a few Turkey Vultures, take a few, minutes to determine if they are on a path to move in a SWesterly direction. If you can, watch til they get out of sight. Did they thermal a couple of times? Did they get pretty high in the sky. Did they just keep moving SW, or WEST. Did they come from pretty far in the North and just keep moving the whole time in about the same direction. Did they remain together in a group? Well, if they did all that. They probably are migrating South for the Winter. So make your self a migration book, and jot a note with the numbers. the time, the weather and the date. But be sure to make yourself a few notes of what you saw, and answer all the "dids" in your notes. Here's how we do it: (minus the notes - those are for your memories.)

2701 is the Count after Today!

October 14 25 - Tuesday. The Turkey Vultures from yesterday shoved Bill right up to within 2 birds of the 2700 mark. So even though he didn't get but 3 Sharpies today, he still crossed into the 700s. 2701 after todays report:

The Turkey Vulture Count Begins

October 13, 25 - Monday. Bill said he definitely had migrating Turkey Vultures, but just couldn't get on any accipiters. With his BW numbers this year, a good number of TVs and later adding in Red shouldered and Red Tails...He might have a significant count this season. But some say the hawks have left out of the North early. Has it affected our flyway? Looking forward to a great BIG HAWK count for a month or so. He's the report:

Accipiters and Blue Sky Nearing Mid October

October 11, 2025, Saturday *** I am going to catch up two reports in this post. I somehow missed the Oct 11th report. And feel like I lost a day to discover it. Oh well, life gets in the way sometimes. First - Saturdays report, Followed immediately by Sunday's report for October 12th, 2025:

Do You Get Excited To See Them Or NOT

October 10, 2025 Welcome to Kim Tyler, who is returning this year once she found us. Yay! Well, I can just imagine seeing what otherwise would be exciting birds for most poeple to see generally, and just getting frustrated when so many are going North instead of in Migration MODE. Yes we do vet the birds we see, for Migratory behavoir. I have listed on here before the indications we consider when counting the birds we believe to be actually migrating. It is a thing that some of the Northern hawks will come this far south and spend the winter with us. Eagles have been known to fly off our ridges about 7am in unbelievable numbers- 15 to 20 on counts designated specifically for making that a known truth. So do you take numbers off the count because you see several of a species fly North. NOPE. Because there were always those "local" hawks here and possibly nesting etc. since the first of the year in some cases, as with Eagles. There are at least as many locals as Bill counted, but couldn't put on the migration count on any given day. It is only unusual that he saw so many of them on this day traveling north. If you are there to see hawks, how exciting! If you are there to count the ones going Southwest, not so much. LOL Here's the count for Friday!

Our Visitors Make The Day Brighter!

Oct 9, 2025 Thursday - Welcome and thank you for coming to the watch, Teri and Doug Shiels. Seasoned Hawk watchers themselves, how I would love to be up there and be able to hear the stories from their watch! The morning clouds became a few too many yesterday before the day was over. Never-the-less, Sharpies keep pouring through. We never claim to be the watch with great huge numbers, just a steady count of what a watcher can see. And there is only one Bill. More eyes to the skies is always a hope daily. It's sunny this morning in the valley. It's time for a bit more variety. Is anything up north pushing them our way. We'll see. Here's Thursday's report:

WEDNESDAY AFTER THE RAINS - LOTS OF BLUE SKIES

OCTOBER 8 2025 - Wednesday was a great opportunity for Hawks to fly high. Even Bill's report said the last 2 birds were quite high. This morning I see lots of scattered clouds. As we've said so many times before through out the years, clouds make the high birds easier to see. Bill was hoping for some backed up hawks, waiting further north, to pass over his position. Depends on their flight path, but at least there is a great opportunity to see a nice variety of hawks, but not so much in kettles from here on out this season.

Tuesday Was Rain Which We Needed - Sharpies Keep Coming

Tuesday Oct 7, 2025 Sharpies are one of the Raptors which don't always mind getting their wings wet. I have seen them in fairly heavy rain zipping down the valley. The problem isn't with them flying. It is with the rain making it nearly impossible to see them.

Rains Are Settling In For a Few Days

Monday October 6th. Bill is driving up any time the rains/clouds clear a bit. His reward is a few hawks each time dart through and can be seen beneath the clouds. Nice Monarch count.

Day 5 of October Has Sharpies on the Move

Oct 5 2025 Bill said 3 of his Sharpies were so high he had to take a second look. That's a thing! Here's the report:

Hawks Being Attacked By Smaller Birds???

October 4, 2025 - Saturday. Yes, it's true, even the smallest of birds harrass, dive on, land on and attack Raptors passing through their local space. And even local hawks will harrass migrating hawks to say, this is my territory, move on. Bill doesn't have Sunday morning coverage. He'll be up after church. Here's Saturday's post:

Cormorants Stole the Show Friday.

October 3,2025 Bill's report lets us know, that there are other bird flocks interesting to be seen from the watch as well as hawks. Here's the report:

Hours Count Too!

Oct 2 2025. Sometimes you get zero hawks for the time you have to spend, But hours do count. They, along with weather data, the watchers and many more things go into the records. But you never know. Sometimes 1 hour is when a thousand raptors flow through. Today, the zero.

October Brings a New Guest

Oct 1, 2025 Kim Tyler. Would have loved seeing you. Sorry about the numbers. Please come again. Here's the first day of October's report:

LAST DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2025

Sept 30 2025 Bill says he picked out singles of BWs all day. Here's the report: