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

Friday, September 11, 2026

Hawkwatch is Officially Open, Saturday Sept 12 2026 Fall Season Has Begun

Bill Haley posted this information to his Facebook, to announce the opening of Hawk watch season, as well a mark your calendar day for Alix Parks" Broadwing Release Event!!!: "I have an exciting announcement! This Saturday, Sept. 12th, I'll begin my 34th fall season monitoring migrating hawks, falcons, eagles and vultures at Soddy Mountain Hawk Watch. (Google us to learn more, and be sure to check out the blog.) In those years over 100,000 migrants have been documented coming past Soddy-Daisy! Soddy Mountain is the longest continuously monitored hawk watch ever in the state of Tennessee. International Hawk Migration Week will be Sept. 12-20. I just got a new banner from the Hawk Migration Association to display during the week at the lookout. Now for the real excitement: I got a call from my good friend Alix Parks today. She runs Happinest Raptor Rescue, (happinestraptorrescue.com), and she has 3 or 4 juvenile Broad-winged Hawks that are ready to be released. This will happen at the hawk lookout on Saturday, September 19 at 10am. This date is close to the peak migration time for Broad-winged Hawks passing through Tennessee, so it's a great time for a release. Anyone interested is invited to witness the release of these young hawks. They have been through rehabilitation and are now fit to be returned to the wild. You will be able to see these magnificent raptors up close! While I can never guarantee migrating hawks, Broad-wings sometimes come through in big numbers. On numerous occasions I've seen over a thousand come past in less than 5 minutes! Most years we see large groups, called kettles, circling together in columns of rising hot air. Many times they are VERY HIGH, so binoculars are needed. I've celebrated the start of such a day in a painting I just completed. I've titled it "Travel Day: Liftoff". It depicts 9 Broad-winged Hawks catching the first thermal of the day, rising off the valley floor. They may cover hundreds of miles this day, soaring and gliding between thermals, scarcely having to flap their wings, joining others as they go. They are heading southwest, heading towards Texas and then funneling down to Central America and northern South America. Mark your calendar for Saturday, September 19 at 10:00am Eastern, Soddy Mountain Hawk Watch lookout. "
Let's Go! Keep Looking Up! Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)