WAGGONER'S GAP HAWK WATCH

CAPRIVI, PENNSYLVANIA

 1-3 November 2024

        Common Raven overhead. This species passes by regularly each day in ones, two, or threes.

Every autumn I struggle to choose a set of days for visiting Waggoner's Gap Hawkwatch that will produce the best encounters with passing raptors. I do lots of back-of-the-envelope analysis based on winds and past bird lists from these dates from years past. I want to be on the Rocks when good numbers of Golden Eagles pass by, ideally at close range to permit me to get pretty images of these magnificent creatures. Also, at this time of year, there is also hope for the occasional American Goshawk (a bird that has become every more uncommon decade by decade). If a good northwest wind blows steadily in excess of 12 MPH, the raptors may stream through, making everybody giddy and grateful.

      Adult Bald Eagle soars on the north side, with the autumn ridges providing a pretty background. 

In fact, the greatest joys of the hawkwatch are invariably: (1) the tranquil time spent in a particularly  beautiful spot in Nature, and (2) the happy and knowledgeable fellowship of hawk-watchers who share the Rocks with me. These two pleasures are always guaranteed, even on a day when the raptors are few and distant. 

    It's always nice to be able to gaze downward on passing birds, such as this Turkey Vulture...

Also getting to spend some quality time in the charming town of nearby Carlisle, PA, is a plus. Restaurants like Issei Noodle and Yak and Yeti are always interesting. Starting the morning with hot coffee and a fortifying old-fashined breakfast at Carlisle Diner is also a winner. 

    Adult Turkey Vulture passes close overhead. Most of the true raptors do not do this and are seen at a distance...

This November, as we rapidly approached the most nerve-racking election in history, the winds were too feeble and too unsteady to generate much in the way of raptors. All my analysis and planning were for naught. It seems the cold fronts that produce strong northwest winds required by the raptors simply are not being generated by our current autumn climate. This very same complaint can be heard at Cape May, New Jersey, another raptor migration site that I like to visit in autumn (see preceding blog). The weather patterns are changing, thanks to a changing world.

    A pair of resident adult Bald Eagles pass by the hawkwatch rocks. These birds, as with the ravens, move back and forth

     along the ridge each day, teasing the hawk-watchers, who count only "migrating" birds (here birds that pass steadily from  

     northeast to southwest of the Rocks). 

 A young Dark-eyed Junco comes to the rocks for the proffered birdseed put out by the Hawkwatch. These visiting juncos, chickadees, and nuthatches offer amusement when the raptors are slow...

The Hawk-watchers also watch the passing songbirds. Some, like this junco come and visit the rocks. Others, such as siskins, Purple Finches, American Robins, Eastern Bluebirds, and Blue Jays, pass by in flocks, on their way to their wintering places.  

     A juvenile Bald Eagle approaching the Hawkwatch gets attention, with hopes it may in fact turn into a Golden Eagle...

I want to tip my hat to the dedicated counters, who spend long hours on the Rocks, often many days each month. These folks are counting raptors from sunrise to sunset, often facing inclement weather: fog, rain, still and overly-warm bluebird days. They hang in there day-in, day-out. Brandon Brogle is the official Waggoner's Gap raptor counter. He is young, eagle-eyed, and perfectly suited to this difficult task from early September to early December. He uploads the observations to the HMANA Hawk Count website in real time each day, so that we all can peek in from afar to see what is happening up there on the Rocks. He is ably aided by a suite of volunteer hawk-watchers, most of whom have decades of tenure up here on the Rocks. Dave Grove, I believe, is the seniormost Watcher. He can clearly recall November 7th 1999 when 29 American Goshawks and 26 Golden Eagles passed close by, making it the the best late-autumn day ever experienced here. I address Dave when I want to know something technical about the science of hawk migration. He is often accompanied by Ron Freed,  Gene Wagner, and Paul Fritz, who are also fonts of knowledge of the Rocks and its history of hawk-watching (and of hawk watching nationally). Additional faithful and dedicated watchers I have had the pleasure of spending time with include Deb Gingrich, Pat Freed, Elizabeth Zink,  Meredith Lombard, Pete Biasucci, Joe Yoder, Jeff Thompson, and Glenn Mitzel. I salute them all!

    waterbirds such as geese, swans, cormorants, and loons pass high overhead... (here Canada Geese)

     Close-up of a juvenile Bald Eagle passing....

                       Yellowing leaves of a coppicing American Chestnut at the base of the Rocks. This tree produced nuts

                             before dying back from the blight. These surviving chestnuts remind us of the devastating blight that killed 

                             more than 4 billion adult trees from Maine to Mississippi. The once was "America's Tree."

    Here is another eagle, apparently a young Bald.

    Here is a subadult Golden Eagle being attended by a Common Raven. This is at medium distance.

     Here is a subadult Golden Eagle at close range (2021). We all hoped for birds like this during my 3 days in 2024: no luck.

    Another 2021 Golden--a striking juvenile. This is the raptorial payoff we all hope for when visiting the Rocks in November.

    We had several Northern Harriers during this visit, but none this close (image from 2022).

    Several Cooper's Hawks passed by, but none as close as this (here an image from Cape May, 2018).

    Here is a Merlin at close range. Our birds this year were all distant and difficult to photograph.

     Adult Sharp-shinned Hawk. One of the dominant species passing the Hawkwatch each year.

    Ventral view of an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, note the distinctly squared-off tail.

    A young Red-tailed Hawk, the most common raptor in early November.

    Here is a Golden Eagle binoculars view that is typical from the Rocks. Many birds pass by at great distance. 

For those contemplating a visit to watch raptor migration for the first time at Waggoner's Gap, I want to offer some advice. First, look at the image just above. Many of the raptors pass by at considerable distance and offer only a few pixels on the camera sensor. It can be a shock how distant most passing birds are--eagle are often spied 3-4 miles north of the Rocks. They are just dark specks in the binoculars. Also, the Rocks can be exposed and chilly, so watchers need to over-dress in layers that can be added or subtracted based on changing conditions. Bring pillows to sit on. Bring plenty of snacks and drinks to keep you going. 8 hours on the rocks can be quite challenging to those not adequately prepared. Bring sunscreen and sunglasses and a hat. And be prepared to be entertained by the group on the Rocks--people who are smart, knowledgeable, and funny.

    Only the Turkey Vultures and ravens pass by at close range on a regular basis.

Here is the list of raptors observed by the Hawkwatch on the days I was there (1-3 Nov 2024). The number with each species is the highest day-count for each: Black Vulture (various nonmigrants), Turkey Vulture (26), Merlin (2), Sharp-shinned Hawk (14), Cooper's Hawk (8), American Goshawk (1), Red-tailed Hawk (65), Red-shouldered Hawk (12), Northern Harrier (3), Bald Eagle (15), Golden Eagle (5). The three-day total of Golden Eagles was 8 birds. This is low for this time of year and probably reflects the lack of strong cold fronts and the lack of cold weather that would drive the birds southward from their post-breeding loafing sites in the Northeast... As the autumn and winter ameliorates, fewer Goldens will venture south, because they can happily subsist in New England on the gut-piles that deer hunters leave in fields as well as small game such as Snowshoe Hares.

 Cape May, New Jersey: 2-6 October 2024

Had four productive mornings in Cape May this autumn. I was joined by David Wilcove and some of his graduate students, who are always fun. One of the students, Alex Wiebe, is a very fine field ornithologist and all-around naturalist. Between Wiebe and Cape May resident naturalists Michael O'Brien and Louise Zemaitis, we saw a lot, enoyed ourselves immensely, and also (as usual) had some fine meals. At Cape May, it is all about the movement of birds, butterflies, and dragonflies. I will let the images speak for themselves, but I here note that our overall natural highlight was a morning with 4,500 Northern Flickers passing the Hawk Watch. That's a lot of flickers for one morning! 

    Dunlin transitioning to winter adult plumage.

    Red Knot in juvenile plumage.

    Short-billed Dowitcher (molting juveniles?)

    Corson's Inlet, north of Cape May: Royal and Forster's Terns, Laughing and Lesser Black-backed Gulls...

    Forster's Tern with baitfish... 

    Left: Great Black-backed Gull; right: Lesser Black-backed Gull.

    Loafing Royal Terns in winter plumage; notice numbered band on lefthand bird.

    Juvenile Bald Eagle

    Osprey

    Sharp-shinned Hawk

    American Kestrel juvenile. 

    Juvenile Peregrine

    Adult Peregrine

    Adult male Northern Flicker

    Adult male Northern Flicker

    Adult male Northern Flicker

    Adult Red-headed Woodpecker

    freshly molted European Starling

    Juvenile Yellow-rumped Warbler

 

Hiking Out of Heart Lake, Adirondack Park, 2-10 July 2024

 

    Mount Marcy (left) and Haystack (right) from Phelps.

After an illness and six weeks of difficult editing work on my current writing project, I was able to take a break from the office in early July.

    Downtown Middlebury, Vermont

First, I picked up my daughter, Cary, in New Jersey, and drove her to Middlebury, Vermont, where she was returning to the language school there to start a second summer of graduate work in Russian studies. Middlebury is stunning this time of year and we got good weather for my drop-off.

    Swift House, Middlebury, Vermont

After plenty of time walking about the town followed by a pleasant night at the Swift House Inn, I said my farewells to Cary and drove west to the Crown Point bridge across Lake Champlain and before lunchtime I was in the Adirondacks.

 

    Vista south from the vast meadow at the top of Heart Lake Road, North Elba. McIntyre Range to left; Indian Pass in middle,        Street and Nye on right.

The vista looking south from the top of the Heart Lake Road is superb, featuring the High Peaks and Indian Pass. The sunny fields of North Elba were full of butterflies.

 

    Campsite SM15, South Meadows

I set up my tent and rain tarp in a state primitive campsite (SM15) at the terminus of South Meadows Road just north of Heart Lake. There are 18 campsites along the road (these are free and first-come, first-serve sites).

    male Purple Finch

My camp at South Meadows was simply a small clearing in the conifer woods, with no amenities. Luckily there was a privy in the woods across the road from me. Given this was the week of the 4^th of July, I expected crowds here, but only about half the campsites were taken. I, myself, was camped here because I had been  unable to reserve a campsite on the Adirondack Loj campus until the 6^th—so it would be three nights at South Meadows followed by five nights camped at Heart Lake/Adirondack Loj.

    Red Squirrel

I had eight glorious days in the Adirondacks. My plan was to walk, hike, and climb—trying out all the trails radiating from these two campsites. My objective was to spend 5-8 hours a day on the trail, giving my legs the full workout.

    Mount Marcy, from Phelps

4^th of July was gorgeous and rain free. I biked to Heart Lake and then hiked to Marcy Dam, then  up the Van Hoevenberg Trail to the turn-off to Phelps Mountain and the ascent to the rocky summit of this member of the “Adirondack 46.” The vista of the High Peaks from Phelps is fabulous, especially if the weather is cooperating.

    Mt Algonquin from Phelps

I was bushed by the time I got back to my camp at South Meadows. I was surprised how few biting insects showed themselves. A few deer flies, but not many mosquitoes or black flies. I recall in earlier decades that early July was a time of swarming biting insects.

    Blue-headed Vireo - widespread in the forests around Heart Lake

The 5^th of July I biked back to Heart Lake and hiked Wright Peak, another good test of my legs. Wright is the most accessible summit in the McIntyre Range, a bit lower than Algonquin, which was the target of most climbers that day. I was happy to keep my efforts to Wright, which offered plenty of challenge to my 72-year-old legs.

 

    Haystack

The 6^th of July I slept in a bit because it had rained heavily through much of the night and pre-dawn hours. Mid-morning I hiked Mount Van Hoevenberg, which offers a lovely forest walk and then an easy ascent. The view from the south-facing cliffs is nearly as beautiful as that from Phelps. In the PM I broke camp at South Meadows and checked in at the Loj for my “wilderness campsite” #27.

    Boreal Chickadee

On the 7^th of July I started with a hot breakfast at the Loj, which was fortifying, and then I climbed Nye Peak, just a bit west of Heart Lake. This is one of the “trailless peaks” but the herd path is so well-traveled there was little challenge except for a couple of stream crossings. Up in  the spruce-fir zone I had nice encounters with Bicknell’s Thrush, Boreal Chickadee, and Blackpoll Warbler—three of the Adirondacks’ North Country specialities.

 

    Bicknell's Thrush

On the 8^th of July I hiked up into Indian Pass, a splendid walk that gains a lot of elevation but offers no real climbing challenge (happily). Bird highlights of this walk were a Black-throated Green Warbler male in the sunlight on the ground and Boreal Chickadee making another close approach. Also three ancient forest giants – a gigantic Eastern White Pine (5 foot diameter), a massive Yellow Birch (3 foot diameter), and a hefty Red Spruce (2 foot diameter). These are the three core timber trees of the Adirondacks. I spent a lot of time tree-watching on my various walks. The Adirondack Park is home to a surprising amount of uncut old growth forest.

    BB with a giant Eastern White Pine

On the 9^th of July I met up with Sandy Robinson, a friend from my home neighborhood of Brookmont in Bethesda, and we climbed Mount Jo, which is a sweet ascent right behind the Adirondack Loj. It offers great vistas of Mount Marcy and Algonquin. In the PM I did the trail loop around Heart Lake, then out the Old Marcy Dam Trail to the Fanghorn Trail, then out to Marcy Dam and back to camp.

    BB and Sandy Robinson, atop Mount Jo

10 July. I climbed Mount Jo once more, just because it is such a pleasant climb and is so near. In the PM I did the Heart Lake loop and then out the main trail once more to Marcy Dam. The remnants of Beryl arrived in the late afternoon and continued on and off in torrents through the night, ending at daylight of the 11^th.

    Blackpoll Warbler male

At dawn of the 11^th I packed up and headed south back into the heat of summer, having refreshed myself with a dose of very high quality forest walking in the North Country. I recommend Heart Lake and the Adirondack Loj to all who love the forest and the mountains of the East.

                        Giant Eastern White Pine up on Indian Pass Trail