Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
North Lookout toward the East, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
Location of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania
Location	Berks / Schuylkill counties, Pennsylvania, USA
Nearest city	Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°38′27″N 75°59′32″W / 40.64083°N 75.99222°W / 40.64083; -75.99222Coordinates: 40°38′27″N 75°59′32″W / 40.64083°N 75.99222°W / 40.64083; -75.99222^[1]
Area	2,600 acres (11 km²)^[2]
Established	1934^[3]
Visitors	60,000 (in 2008)^[2]
Governing body	Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association^[3]
http://www.hawkmountain.org

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is a wild bird sanctuary in Albany Township and East Brunswick Township, located along the Appalachian flyway in eastern Pennsylvania. The sanctuary is a prime location for the viewing of kettling and migrating raptors with an average of 20,000 hawks, eagles and falcons passing the lookouts during the late summer and fall every year. The birds are identified and counted by staff and volunteers to produce annual counts of migrating raptors that represent the world's longest record of raptor populations. These counts have provided conservationists with valuable information on changes in raptor numbers in North America.

Setting

The Sanctuary is located on a ridge of Hawk Mountain, one of the Blue Mountain chain. The Visitor Center houses a shop and facilities with parking nearby. A habitat garden next to it is home to native plants that are protected by a deer fence. The 1 mile Lookout Trail runs from the Visitor Center to a number of raptor viewing sites along the ridge, the most popular being the close by South Lookout (elevation 1300 feet) and the North Lookout (elevation 1521 feet) with a 200 degree panoramic view that extends to 70 miles. Nine trails of varying difficulty are available to hikers and linked to the Appalachian Trail.

South Lookout, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

Located in the sanctuary is Schaumboch's Tavern, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.^[4]

Education

The sanctuary partners with a few of the local colleges, such as Kutztown University and Cedar Crest College, to provide higher-level classes for students in relevant fields of study. They also offer programs, seminars, and volunteer opportunities to the public. The sanctuary is extremely popular as a destination for birdwatchers and hikers.

History

The area was a popular site for shooting hawks, either for sport or to prevent depredations on domestic fowl or game birds. In 1934, Rosalie Edge leased 1,400 acres (5.7 km²) of property on Hawk Mountain and hired wardens to keep the hunters away. The wardens were Maurice Broun and his wife Irma Broun, bird enthusiasts and conservationists from New England. Almost immediately, there was a noticeable recovery in the raptor population. In 1938, the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association was incorporated as a non-profit organization in Pennsylvania, and Edge purchased the property and deeded it to the association in perpetuity.

As the world's oldest wildlife sanctuary exclusively committed to the protection and observation of birds of prey, Hawk Mountain holds a unique place in geographic and scientific history. It is not owned or financially supported by the state; it remains entirely self-sufficient. In 1965 the sanctuary was registered as a National Natural Landmark.

John Denver's bench at Hawk Mountain

Famous visitors to the sanctuary include Rachel Carson^[5] and John Denver, whose name is inscribed on a memorial bench at South Lookout.

In 2007, the sanctuary lost one of its dearest friends and the most generous benefactor in its history, Sarkis Acopian, an industrialist and humanitarian. Through his philanthropy, the sanctuary was able to open the Acopian Center for Conservation Learning in 2001, where students come from all over the world to participate in work-study internships, learning about ornithology, environmental science, biology, and related fields.

In 2009, the sanctuary celebrated the 75th anniversary of Rosalie Edge's original efforts.

Migration timetable

The peak migration time at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is as follows. Time periods given here are those when the raptor has historically been counted on half or more days. Species of raptor are listed in chronological order of the start of their period of likely observation.^[6]

Broad-winged hawk: late August to late September
American kestrel: late August to early October
Osprey: late August to early October
Bald eagle: early September
Northern harrier: early September to early November
Sharp-shinned hawk: early September to early November
Red-tailed hawk: early September to early December
Cooper's hawk: late September to late October
Merlin: early October (seen only two in five days)
Peregrine falcon: early October (seen only two in five days)
Red-shouldered hawk: early October to early November
Golden eagle: early November
Rough-legged hawk: early November to early December (seen only one in five days)
Goshawk: late November

References

↑ "Hawk Mountain Sanctuary". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
1 2 "About Us". Hawk Mountain website. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
1 2 "History". Hawk Mountain website. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
↑ Broun, Maurice. Hawks Aloft: The Story of Hawk Mountain.
↑ "Raptor Migration". Hawk Mountain website. Retrieved 2009-01-18.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.

Protected areas of Pennsylvania

Federal

NPS National Historical Parks & National Historic Sites	Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS Edgar Allan Poe NHS Eisenhower NHS Friendship Hill NHS Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church NHS Hopewell Furnace NHS Independence NHP Steamtown NHS Valley Forge NHP

National Memorials	Benjamin Franklin Flight 93 Johnstown Flood Thaddeus Kosciuszko

National Battlefields and National Military Parks	Fort Necessity NB Gettysburg NMP

National Trails	Appalachian Trail

Other protected areas	Allegheny National Recreation Area Blue Marsh National Recreation Area Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area Middle Delaware National Scenic River Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

National Forests	Allegheny

USFS National Historic Sites	Grey Towers

National Wildlife Refuges	Cherry Valley Erie John Heinz Ohio River Islands

State

State Parks	Allegheny Islands Archbald Pothole Bald Eagle Beltzville Bendigo Benjamin Rush Big Pocono Big Spring Black Moshannon Blue Knob Boyd Big Tree Buchanan's Birthplace Bucktail Caledonia Canoe Creek Chapman Cherry Springs Clear Creek Codorus Colonel Denning Colton Point Cook Forest Cowans Gap Delaware Canal Denton Hill Elk Erie Bluffs Evansburg Fort Washington Fowlers Hollow Frances Slocum French Creek Gifford Pinchot Gouldsboro Greenwood Furnace Hickory Run Hillman Hills Creek Hyner Run Hyner View Jacobsburg Jennings Joseph E. Ibberson Kettle Creek Keystone Kings Gap Kinzua Bridge Kooser Lackawanna Laurel Hill Laurel Mountain Laurel Ridge Laurel Summit Lehigh Gorge Leonard Harrison Linn Run Little Buffalo Little Pine Locust Lake Lyman Run Marsh Creek Maurice K. Goddard McCalls Dam McConnells Mill Memorial Lake Milton Mont Alto Moraine Mt. Pisgah Nescopeck Neshaminy Nockamixon Nolde Forest Norristown Farm Ohiopyle Oil Creek Ole Bull Parker Dam Patterson Penn-Roosevelt Pine Grove Furnace Poe Paddy Poe Valley Point Presque Isle Prince Gallitzin Promised Land Prompton Prouty Place Pymatuning R. B. Winter Raccoon Creek Ralph Stover Ravensburg Reeds Gap Ricketts Glen Ridley Creek Ryerson Station S. B. Elliott Salt Springs Samuel S. Lewis Sand Bridge Shawnee Shikellamy Sinnemahoning Sizerville Susquehanna Susquehannock Swatara Tobyhanna Trough Creek Tuscarora Tyler Upper Pine Bottom Varden Warriors Path Washington Crossing Whipple Dam White Clay Creek Worlds End Yellow Creek

State Forests	Bald Eagle Buchanan Clear Creek Cornplanter Delaware Elk Forbes Gallitzin Lackawanna Loyalsock Michaux Moshannon Rothrock Sproul Susquehannock Tiadaghton Tioga Tuscarora Weiser William Penn (Wild areas)

Scenic Rivers	Bear Run French Creek Lehigh River LeTort Spring Run Lick Run Lower Brandywine Octoraro Creek Pine Creek Schuylkill River Stony Creek Tucquan Creek Tulpehocken Creek Yellow Breeches Creek

Other

Other	Anders Run Natural Area Forrest H. Duttlinger Natural Area Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area Johnson Run Natural Area Stone Valley Recreation Area Trexler Nature Preserve Wykoff Run Natural Area

Hiking trails	Appalachian Baker Black Forest Central Mountains Shared Use Darlington Eastern Continental Five Star Glacier Ridge Great Eastern Greene River Horse-Shoe Indian Creek Valley Loyalsock Mid State Standing Stone Mason-Dixon North Country Ohio River Old Loggers Path Pinchot Potomac Heritage Quehanna Rachel Carson Sheepskin Susquehannock Thunder Swamp Tuscarora Valley Forge Historical West Rim Wissahickon Youghiogheny River

Rail trails	Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Beaver River East Coast Greenway Five Star Ghost Town Great Allegheny Passage Great Shamokin Path Greene River Indian Creek Valley Lebanon Valley Lehigh Gorge Liberty Bell Lower Montour Ohio River Palmer Bikeway Panhandle Perkiomen Pine Creek Plainfield Township Schuylkill River Sheepskin Struble Susquehanna Warrior Switchback Three Rivers Heritage York Country Heritage Youghiogheny River

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

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