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

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

ANY DAY NOW - ACCIPITERS AND OTHER BUTEOS WILL BE FLOWING THROUGH

Harold Birch sent us the following report today.  Jimmy needed a day of rest.  Harold reports that a couple from Georgia who joined him today, reported exiting a restaurant near the Aquarium on or about the 21st of September, (a rain out day for the Hill) and they saw so many broad wings overhead they were impossible to count.  We knew they were out there somewhere! LOL  Appreciate them coming by to make the report.  Great news.

Harold's report was:
"Most of the birds were easily seen with naked eye. One BW was about 50 feet up over head."

"BW – 1153 s, 1241 (2)w, 1354 s, 1400 s, 1422 w, 1435 s, 1518 s,

SS - 1019 (2 – south), 1153 w, 1219 w, 1241 w, 1505 s

RS - 1210 s,

CH – 1318 s, 1526 s

BE – 1431 s, 1435 s

10:00 – 64 deg 81% calm 30.17 60% 30k

11:00 – 67 79 calm 30.17 60 25

12:00 - 70 75 calm 30.17 40 40

1:00 - 73 69 ssw 5 30.17 40 40

2:00 - 77 62 ssw 5 30.12 40 45

Harold Birch

Soddy Daisy, TN"
 
That's 8 BWs, 2 Coopers and 6 Sharpies....We expect the numbers to change over to Accipiters, and other non-BW species for October.  It has begun!

Check the side bar to check out the chart for the general movement of all the species.  The chart is provided with permission from Bill Haley's flyer previously printed for the Soddy Mountain Hawk Watch. On this page are the accepted abbreviations for the species we list, and a chart on their movement.
 http://soddymountainhawkwatch.blogspot.com/p/raptor-species.html
 
I am so excited to see people continue to visit, even though we may not be able to be there nearly as often as the past three weeks. 
 
I want to thank Mark McShane for his great report to his Georgia birders, and a great shout out for the hawk watch.  They continue to look for a great watch area there, and when they find it, we hope to report their numbers for a larger perspective on hawks move on a broad front.
 
Aren't the Bald Eagle numbers impressive.  So much fun seeing them moving through almost daily. In case you think we might be seeing the same ones, it is possible to note that many of them look different, are differing ages, and we have seen as many as two pairs of Adults traveling together, thus eliminating the possibility of confusing them for the day.
 
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!
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