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

Saturday, October 29, 2022

Merlins And an Uptick in Vultures

Watching the wind directions change on Bill's report is interesting today. We often focus on the numbers of the birds, but the data for weather is alway interesting too. A NE Wind became an ESE wind, then calmed but ended out the Day coming straight out of the East. The interesting thing, about Vultures, is they love wind. Turkey Vultures especially are well suited to the wind. And sometimes in Easterly winds, we have seen them moving E to W in the hazy mists North of the Watch all day, and could never count them in spite of their size, because they were just fantom shapes appearing and vanishing in the haze. Friday, about lunch time- well here's the report:
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