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

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Peregrin Falcon Makes an Appearance

The BW numbers will slow now. Large numbers moved South early this year according to many watchers. The Nor'Easter which went up the eastern coast pushed them a little west of us. Holly Taylor up in Putnam Co. TN around Clarkville reported a huge push of BWs, showing videos online of a pure river of BWs migrating by them a few days ago. I mentioned it looked like being in Corpus Christi. While Corpus Christi racked up 80.000 plus 2 days in a row. There are no shortages of BW hawks. They just have not made a huge showing over Soddy Mountain while Bill was able to be there. Thankfully, he's had a steady stream of help and visitors, and that is very motivating, and fun. And he's had enough hawks to help people get to see them. Even with some variety. Today's count is pretty much a good example. And just seeing the hawks, and getting to know them is often better than a thousand BWs. Here's the report:
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