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 17, 2017

All Day Coverage With High Hopes

Monday
Oct. 16, 2017

"After the passage of a cold front last night, and following the excellent hawk flight yesterday, I took some time off work this afternoon. I fully expected another good flight today. Turns out, the hawks decided to make their move yesterday before the front arrived, and there was very little going on today.

The lesson? Just when I think we have things figured out, the hawks know better than we do what are their preferred flying conditions. Yesterday's steady SE wind must have provided the perfect cushion of air deflected off the mountain face, and it was still warm enough to provide some help from thermals as well.

Jim Rowell arrived this morning at 8:00 after hearing of the big flight. When I walked onto the lookout at 12:15, I figured he'd have lots of birds to report. I was surprised he'd not seen much. My efforts yielded little more.

Hawks by the hour:
8:00-9:00 - 0
9:00-10:00 - 0
10:00-11:00 - 0
11:00-12:00 - TV 4, SS 1
12:00-1:00 - SS 1
1:00-2:00 - SS 2
2:00-3:00 - 0
3:00-4:00 - TV 4

Total raptors: 12 (TV 8, SS 4)

Weather: AM: temperatures in the low 50's, clouds were about 40%, visibility good and wind was strong out of the north. PM: Clouds 10% @ 12:15, 25% @ 1:00, 10% @ 2:00, 5% @ 3:00. Wind: N 10-15, with occasional gusts of 20+ mph. Temperature: 60F @ 12:15, gradually increasing to 66F @ 3:00. Barometric pressure: 30:26 @ 12:15, gradually decreasing to 30.20 @ 3:00. Humidity: 51% - 45%. Visibility: 65 - 70 K. 

Counters: 
Jim Rowell,  8:00-3:30
Bill Haley 12:15-4:00

Reporting : Bill Haley"
 
KEEP LOOKING UP!!!!
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)