SPECIES KEY

A Turkey Vulture flies with slightly upturned wings, called a dyhedral. (V shape)

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Not all North American Hawk species migrate along the eastern migratory routes. Some species are seen only in the west, so they will not be included here.  Some species are not regulars but have been seen in this area, and will be included here.  As the habitats of birds, both hawks and their prey expand, new species may be added once the particular raptor is documented to be seen on the hawk watch in migration. (We ALWAYS keep our eyes open for something new !)
The key to being counted in the numbers we keep is that the birds must appear to be migrating:

• In fall, that would mean they would come from a point north of the lookout position and continue to a point south of the lookout. Or a dedicated westerly flight. *(see note)
• They would demonstrate the attitudes of a migrating bird.
• They would need to be passing within the known migration time frame for that species.             (or migration schedule.)
• They need to be viewed by persons with some experience who can make a determination of the bird's identity with a certain amount of assurance, (they could explain why what they saw helped them identify this bird as such to the satisfaction of other hawk watchers.) Viewers at the watch are more than glad to aid watchers to know what they are seeing and help them to be involved in the ID process. 
• They will have passed the lookout to southerly destinations without returning, to the best knowlege of the watchers.

       *(Jimmy brought to my attention that this entry needed some explaination for the exceptions of when we don't actually see the birds coming from a point in  the north. On the greater scope of things, we believe the majority of our hawks come from a state or location to the north and are headed along a path that will funnel them toward Texas and points further south. But, Jimmy wants me to clarify that probably 60 % of what we see is flying over our site in a westerly direction.

 For example: one morning recently, the mists, fogs and hazes over the valley had not broken before the clouds lifted on the watch site.  The thermals had actually begun to form, yet the site distance was minumal, limited to an area just beyond the roadway below us.  We suddenly saw a large kettle forming behind us, where birds appeared to either be "lifting off from the trees below, &/or flying in from the east through the fog and up the ridge to enter the kettle that was forming. Hawks, especially, Broad Wings will "slip" by us along the ridges or along the river to the east of us, and may drop into sight and head west from that eastern location.  They often appear to be flying from east to west in these situations.We can assume they have come from a point north of us, but have made it to a place east or south of us, before we actually see them.
Some hawks approach from an area east of the ridge in front of us, (since we ususally face our chairs facing North) and cross along the ridge which is mostly a westerly flight.  If they pass over us, they usually turn rather quickly to a W/SW direction as they escape our view, often at great heights after finding lift in the thermals over the ridge where we are sitting. The other migration criteria come into play to help us judge their migration status. If there are more than a couple of birds at once, and they move ever futher south , SW, or west, it is pretty obvious.) They are migrating.

Species Key:

OS ~ Osprey

MK ~ Mississippi Kite

BE ~ Bald Eagle

GE ~ Golden Eagle

NH ~ Northern Harrier

SS ~ Sharp-Shinned Hawk

CH ~ Cooper's Hawk

NG ~ Northern Goshawk

RS ~ Red-Shouldered Hawk

BW ~ Broad-Winged Hawk

RT ~ Red-Tailed Hawk

RL ~ Rough-legged Hawk

AK ~ American Kestral

ML ~ Merlin

PG ~ Peregrin Falcon

TV ~ Turkey Vulture

BV ~ Black Vulture



Red-tailed Hawk with prominent "belly band".

Copied from the Brochure
Soddy Mountain Hawk Lookout,
with permission from
Bill Haley, compiler and author.

The actual migration of all the raptor species covers a time frame beginning in late August to late November.  In general, late September, mid - October, and early to mid - Novermber are the best times to expect to see good numbers of migrants passing our site.

It is difficult to man a watch continuously for the whole time.  Weather definitely comes into play, and the number of persons with time available also limits the days the watch can be manned.  The elements also can be detrimental to one's health over time, by simply being exposed to sun and not having facilities for restrooms, food  or relief from the heat.  Sun poisoning and sunburning one's eyes, or windburning exposed areas are all to be dealt with and avoided, if possible.  So it is a hit or miss kind of count. If one is lucky and has available time to commit on high traffic days, the birds have been backed up by a  cold front, and the clouds are favorable for seeing them against the blue skies...counting can be an exciting situation. But there are also a lot of days when one may spend hours and never see a raptor of any kind. 

Is there any question why this bird is called a
Red-Shouldered Hawk?
 

 Some days, one may see the same local birds, which are not migrating, over and over and over... Not boring with good company, but it takes dedication to be a real counter/compiler.  Yet it takes no dedication to help the compiler be relieved for an hour or two when anyone can donate the time.  Experienced counters who keep records are a blessing as well.  They sometimes call or e-mail their counts for the day, when we, or one of the familiar counters cannot be there.  We will introduce you to some of our counters who will also welcome any who will come to see, count or learn about migrating raptors.

Hawk reports are welcome from your home or if you visit our watch during times we are not present.  We would love to know what you are seening.  Put your notes and sightings in our comments section.