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

Sunday, October 13, 2019

October Pics Show A Little Color

Bill took a few minutes to take a few pics of fall beginning to peek into the hawk-watch surroundings. Plus some little interest shots, because there is always a little nature to enjoy when the hawks are scarce. LOL

Note the Loon in the Other sightings!

Enjoy-  Here's Saturday's report:

"Soddy Mountain, TN hawk report
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019

Time on lookout: 0945-1600 = 6.25 hr. 
Counter: Bill Haley
Pictures by William Haley (Bill)



Weather: 0945 Clouds 100%, wind NNW 5-12, visib. 55K, temp. 55F. 1100 wind NE 10-15, visib. 65K, temp. 57F. 1200 Clouds 99%, wind NE 2-8, temp. 60F. 1300 Clouds 60%, wind NE 2-5, temp. 63F. 1400 Clouds 35%, temp. 66F. 1500 Clouds 50%, wind NNW 2-10, temp. 68F.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Raptors by the hour:
0945-1000: 0
1000-1100: SS 1
1100-1200: 0
1200-1300: SS 2
1300-1400: BE (ad.) 1, NH 1, SS 5
1400-1500: BE (ad ) 2
1500-1600: 0
   
BE 3
NH 1
SS 8
_______________
12 Total Raptors 
 
 






















Other notable sightings:
- Wild Turkey (8) feeding in yard at junction of Jones Gap and Burchard Roads in way to lookout.
- Common Loon (1) flying south.
-Canada Goose (50) large V flying south. This is quite unusual. We expect to see Snow Geese, Double-crested Cormorants or Sandhill Cranes migrating in V's, but for some reason we very rarely see large numbers of Canada Geese.
- Monarch butterflies: 8
 


I only counted one sharpie before the clouds began to move out. The hour the clearing took place was the busiest of the day. Once I had a majority of blue sky the migrants dried up.

I will be up there after church tomorrow.
Reporting: William G. (Bill) Haley
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KEEP LOOKING UP!!!
 
 
 
 
 
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1 comment:

  1. Soddy Mountain Hawk WatchOctober 13, 2019 at 6:16 PM

    The sidebar totals at this moment are very wrong. I have a week of catching the numbers up to do. Sunday Oct 13, 2019

    ReplyDelete

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