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 12, 2024

This Time Of Year!!! Yay October!

Over the last few days we have felt the temps dropping finally from the extreme highs. We have experienced 2 Major hurricanes - Helene and Milton- both of which did so much damage to Florida, but devasted the Mountain towns in SC, TN, VA, and especially NC. The terrain I grew up loving so much, where much of my heritage is from, is now gone. Totally gone in many spots. So many people hurting with great losses of homes, family members, land, and just the necessities for life. In addition, South GA and the coasts of Florida, Ga and SC also were eaten alive by Tornados associated with Helene, which left no community in her path alone. Helene tore up entire towns, and down every country road, more trees and flooding, in 6 states. Hundreds of thousands without power for days, into weeks, and thousands with be for months. In addition, a favorite cousin passed, so I am fighting the gloom that wants so much to creep in. But there has been good. I have no family injured by the Hurricanes or tornados. None that I know of are suffering over storms. Our cousin lived to be 90, with a very good life, and he preceeds his precious wife, who may not know or remember, because she has alzheimers. And,he is safe with Jesus. In addition our precious Grandson had a birthday, and won his football game leaving his season as a quaterback at 5 and 1, losing only the game to their greatest rival, in the middle of pouring rain as Helene approached us. All in all, that was just a bit more than almost any of us can handle in just a couple of weeks. So we have made mistakes and fixed them, and as ususal I am fighting a computer which is far too full. And outdated. Yet, it remains important to me to keep a running total of our raptors migrating over one spot on this planet. As a compiled history over a quarter century that can be affirmed and researched. Will it matter in the course of historical things. No. But to us it is one of many sites wishing to put a permanancy on the strange changing ebb and flow of things that have natural patterns long ago established, before Man even was on this earth. We simply tell the story, overshadowed by other natural wonders that make the greatest changes on this earth, like huge storms. Amidst all of this, we have witnessed for the first time in my life, the beauty of Aurora Borealis in all 49 states, dipping deep into even storm ridden Florida. But due to the marvel of our modern communications, which make it possible to share these reports, I also shared with family and friends who altogether viewed the Aurora the same time I did. All were able to share their pictures, and we felt like community, and close family. It is for the sake of sharing something good and timeless. For a community who cares. For this I am thankful. Here's Bill's report:

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