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, September 18, 2015

Red-Tailed Hawk to Honor A Dear Birding Friend

Alix Parks will release a Rehabilitated Red-tailed Hawk to honor our long time birding friend, Harold Sharp, who has himself, taken his final flight.  I will edit this with details about the release, which is scheduled for tomorrow on Signal Mountain, as soon as I know them. Thank you Alix, and we honor Harold in our hearts, and continue to pray for his family. 

With our commitment to be on Soddy Mountain this weekend, we plan to still have staff to join those who have made plans to come.  Have some great and exciting reports from a famous northern site up north...in a day or two.  We are hoping the hawks being seen there, will be coming our way.  Great info and pictures to be posted soon.

Please join us and Alix if you are able tomorrow.

And be prepared to
KEEP LOOKING UP!!!
Cynthia and Jimmy Wilkerson

A lone Broad-wing streaks through, no soft circling, just a bullet ride from up high,
 wings set to capture as much distance as the air will allow.

Reports from Yesterday and Today:

9/17/15, Thursday
4 Broad-wings
1 Sharp-shinned

We also had 1 Adult Golden Eagle flying North, uncountable - good long look at him to see his amazing golden head and shoulders, shining like polished brass.  No white of any year immature.  A touch of white where the tail connects the body, might indicate a molt.  Probably, from previous year's hacked birds.  Hope to see him later in the year on his way south.

Hawks playing and contacting one another, were the rule of the day.  We at least were entertained by the hawks, even if they were not migrating today.

Harold, Cynthia, Jimmy
9:15 am to 1:45 pm

9/18/15, Friday
19 Broad-wings
  1 Cooper's Hawk

Harold Birch, Jimmy Wilkerson, and Kent DuBois

Morning blue skies turned to partial clouds as the day passed.  But not to reveal hawk kettles. Visibility was shorter than on previous days, with only 15k of viewing space early.  It extended out to 40k by day's end, with no hawks moving through the airspace at levels to be seen.

They did have an Adult Bald Eagle which flew N around 1:10.

Our biggest days are ahead of us, weather permitting.  So we are now prepared to see all we can see.

So join us to
KEEP LOOKING UP!!!

Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson
 

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