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Kittatinny Ridge Conservation Project >
Audubon Hawk Watch at Waggoner's Gap
Very few wildlife experiences are more exciting
than the sight of a Golden Eagle cruising south over a landscape
cloaked in late autumn browns, yellows, and reds. And there is
no better place in Pennsylvania to see this sight than the rock
outcrop at Waggoner's Gap Hawk Watch.
Raptor migration data have been collected
at Waggoner's Gap since the 1950s. In the late 1980s, volunteer
hawk watchers began logging more than 500 hours per year. Today,
dedicated volunteers have their eyes to the sky from August 1st
to December 31st, logging more than 1,000 hours per season on
the rocks.
Waggoner's Gap Hawk Watch has been owned by
Audubon since 2001. The acquisition of Waggoner's Gap was made
possible by the Erdman Trust and Natural Lands Trust, assuring
that recreational hawk watching and scientific counting will carry
forward in perpetuity.
View the Migration Timing Chart (based on 5 years of Waggoner's Gap data) to
determine the best time to observe a particular species. To view historical and current raptor migration counts for Waggoner's Gap, and other sites in Pennsylvania and around North America, visit
HawkCount.org, the raptor tracking and reporting database for
Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA).
Click here
to visit a web site containing historic Hawk Watch count data as well as other important information from Waggoner's Gap.
For more information and details of Hawk
Migration Association of North America statistics, download our
brochure.
The Cliff Jones Field Station at Waggoner's
Gap
Audubon Pennsylvania is pleased to celebrate
and commemorate Cliff Jones' lifelong dedication to conservation
and birding with the establishment of the Cliff Jones Field Station.
This initiative includes improvements to the
site, on the east and west sides of Rt. 74, that will help support
hundreds of weekend visitors, and make the site more accessible
for groups while maintaining the natural and rustic quality of
the area.
- Establishment of handicapped-accessible viewing areas
- Trail improvements and interpretive signs
- Creation of an outdoor classroom and picnic glen
- Enhanced education and outreach on- and off-site
Give
today or learn more about the project and specific naming
opportunities from our brochure.
Find other Hawk Watching Sites along the Kittatinny Ridge.
Location
Waggoner's Gap is located 10 miles north of
downtown Carlisle on Route 74 on the Cumberland/Perry County line.
A marked parking lot is on the east side of Route 74, a tenth
of a mile down from the crest of the mountain on the north side
in Perry County.
Waggoner's
Gap Community Survey
Please click the headline above to complete a survey about Waggoner's
Gap and Audubon's plans for the Hawk Watch. You may print the
survey and mail it or complete the form electronically and e-mail
it. Alternately, you may pick up a copy of the survey at the following locations.
Cumberland County Planning Commission office - located at 18 N. Hanover Street - Carlisle.
Cumberland Valley Tourist Bureau - located at 401 E. Louther Street - Carlisle. Courthouse
at the square in Carlisle - see brochure display.
Directions for where to send your survey appear at the end
of the form. Thanks you for your help!
Website Links to Partnering Organizations:
PA
State Environmental Education
Hawk
Mountain
Manada
Conservancy
The
Nature Conservancy
Appalachian
Trail Conservancy
Blue
Mountain Wildlife Conservancy
Charles
Brightbill Educational Center
Lehigh
Gap Nature Center
Wildwood
Park Olewine Nature Center
Jacobsburg
Environmental Educational Center
Central
Pennsylvania Conservancy
Kings
Gap Education Center
Hawk
Migration Association of North America |
