While Grandfather Mountain’s annual Hawk Watch – a vast citizen-science project during the month of September to count and identify the numerous species of raptors making their journey to warmer climates – was cut short in 2024 due to Hurricane Helene, staff and volunteers were still able to conduct a solid count overall.
Raptors are birds of prey, such as hawks, eagles, owls and vultures. The telltale signs of the raptor are sharp talons, a hooked upper bill and keen eyesight. While some raptors remain in place during winter, most will travel south, where food is more abundant.
Visitors had a front-row seat to one of nature’s most stunning spectacles and were invited to join the mountain’s naturalists as they tallied the number of migrating passersby in the sky from viewing locations on Linville Peak and Half Moon Overlook. Grandfather Mountain is one of more than 300 Hawk Watch sites officially designated by the Hawk Migration Association of North America.
Despite the conditions later in the month, this year saw the fourth-highest tally on record (since 2008), with a total of 5,795 raptors recorded overhead. Broad-winged hawks were the most-counted species. The year with the most birds observed from the park was 2015, when 10,723 were spotted that September.
The busiest day of the count came on Sept. 23, with 2,831 birds recorded. The second-busiest day came on Sept. 21, when 2,084 raptors were counted.
“Weather is always a key factor when it comes to Hawk Watch and is ultimately what determines if we see large numbers of birds, or if they get pushed further east or west,” said Will Bennett, research coordinator for the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. “Rain and fog, storm systems, temperature and prevailing winds all play a key part in the routes that raptors take as they migrate.”
The birds opt to take the path of least resistance, which sometimes brings them directly over Grandfather Mountain and other times does not.
“This fall brought much of that determining weather, with part of the third week rained out due to Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight, and the fourth week entirely halted, as we all know, due to Hurricane Helene and the heavy rains that preceded it,” said Bennett.
Grandfather Mountain is typically a prime spot for viewing this phenomenon because it sits along the eastern escarpment of the Appalachian Mountains, and its rocky peaks generate strong thermal uplifts and allow excellent visibility.
Aside from offering quite a show, Hawk Watch serves an important purpose. The annual counts from Grandfather Mountain and other locations help track hawk populations and migration routes over time and contribute to this growing body of research.
The goal is to accumulate a large set of data over an extended period of time in order for researchers to examine the birds’ migratory patterns and what external factors, such as climate change, may be affecting them. When it comes to conservation projects like this one, long-term data (input from Hawk Watch sites) is key in being able to better understand what issues these species are facing.
To learn more about Hawk Watch at Grandfather Mountain, visit www.grandfather.com/hawk-watch.
To view more data from this year’s Hawk Watch, visit www.hawkcount.org/grandfathermountain.