Hawk Watch 2026
Thousands of hawks ride these ridges south every September.
“Lawn chairs and a cooler line the edge of the overlook. A whiteboard leans against the cooler, spotting scopes sit on tripods, and a dozen people scan the horizon. Someone calls out and points at a distant ridge. Binoculars swing in unison. Dark specks are spiraling up into the clouds — a kettle. “Looks like Broad-wings.” “I count 23.” Twenty-three tick marks go on the board.”
— Adapted from “A Day at the Hawk Watch” by Paul Laurent
0
raptors counted in 2026
0
HCAS volunteer hours
0
Monarch butterflies
The 2026 tally
- Broad-winged Hawk1,770
- Bald Eagle19
- Sharp-shinned Hawk13
- Cooper's Hawk9
- Northern Harrier8
- Red-shouldered Hawk8
- Merlin8
- Black Vulture7
- Osprey6
- American Kestrel5
- Peregrine Falcon4
- Red-tailed Hawk1
- Unidentified raptors25
Bars use a square-root scale so the rarer raptors stay visible.
Season by season
2026 was a strange year. A big front pushed this year's Broad-winged Hawks west of the escarpment — GPS-tagged birds from the Broad-winged Hawk Project confirmed it — so the count came in well below recent seasons. The volunteers were out there anyway, day after day: 358 volunteer hours, visitors from six states and England, and 239 Monarchs counted alongside the hawks.
Volunteer next September
No experience required — experienced spotters teach you to pick out a Broad-wing by its silhouette. Come for an hour or come every day. Watch the Google Group in late summer for dates and the overlook.