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, November 3, 2020

THE MARCH OF THE BIG RAPTORS IS IN FULL SWING

The easiest to see of the raptors on our hawk watch are usually the Vultures and the Red-tailed hawks. November is classically their month. They don't tend to migrate as far as some, like Broadwings for instance. So it is called a SHIFT. Yet it can equate to hundreds of miles and make cold and windy days easier to bear if they don't raise to great heights on cooler air. But haze and smoke can make late fall sightings difficult, so a year like this one, with good numbers of visible raptors makes it rewardings. Bill's numbers continue to rise toward 6000 raptors. May the flights continue to be blessed.
KEEP LOOKING UP!!!!
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