Hawks in the mist

I just returned from a whirlwind tour of some of eastern Pennsylvania's best hawk-watching sites, capped by quality time spent on the rocks of Hawk Mountain.

Today, it was a quick sortie down to Waggoner's Gap, which can be a stellar lookout for birds of prey that are winging their way south.

Fall is a gorgeous time to be in the rugged mountains of Pennsylvania. The leaves are beginning to change, especially the brilliant scarlet foliage of Blackgum, Nyssa sylvatica.

However, lovely as the forests are at Waggoner's Gap, this was the view from the summit. Your blogger stands in light rain, enshrouded by mist that cut visibility to 100 feet or so. Raptors? Zero. Was not the day for it; they wouldn't have been flying and even if they were, it wouldn't have been possible to see them. Ah, well - at least I got to see the place, and get a feel for it. There'll be another time.

The weather was far superior for sky-watching yesterday, and the day before. Here, I perch on a rocky promontory known as Bake Oven Knob, yesterday. The view is stupendous, and raptors often wing by practically at arm's length. Upon arrival at the knob, a subadult Bald Eagle appeared and traced a few languid circles about 40 feet up and directly overhead.

I'll soon return with some photos of Hawk Mountain and raptors.