Welcome to the Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch at the Arthur W. Butler Sanctuary!

The Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch sits on an east-facing ridge at The Nature Conservancy’s 350-acre Arthur W. Butler Sanctuary in Bedford Corners, New York. Located in the southern foothills of the Taconic Mountains and fifteen miles north of Long Island Sound, the site affords views of the hills of Putnam County, New York to the north, the towns of Bedford, Pound Ridge and North Castle to the east, and Greenwich, Connecticut and the Long Island Sound to the south.

Migrant birds follow the local ridgelines and the sound shore in our region, offering birders sitting in the Hawk Watch’s bleachers views of birds of prey as they pass from east to west in front of and over the watch.

Sixteen species of birds of prey pass the Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch every fall. Many of them begin their migration from their breeding grounds in Quebec, the Canadian Maritimes, and northern New England. However, others come from as far away as Alaska and the Northwest.

The most favorable weather conditions for hawk flights at Chestnut Ridge are autumn days with blue skies, puffy cumulus clouds, and northwest winds that follow a cold front out of the Great Lakes. Don’t be discouraged if these weather conditions don’t occur during your planned visit. West, northeast, and even south winds can produce a reasonable flight of hawks at Chestnut Ridge.

Migrant hawks don’t pass through in a steady stream, so if you go, plan on spending the better part of a day there although you may catch a good flight by stopping in for an hour or two. Bring binoculars and a spotting scope if you have them. A field guide will be of use, but Bedford Audubon’s Hawk Watcher will be happy to help you spot and identify the birds.

Read an article about the Hawk Watch from The New York Times published on October 27, 1991: "Stalking Birds of Prey Through Eyes of Binoculars."

CAUTION: Once you’ve experienced hawk watching, you may be hooked for life. Hawks, eagles, and falcons are nothing less than some of nature’s most beautiful and graceful creatures.

Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch Update
By Cameron Rutt

As we near the conclusion of the 2008 hawk watching season at Bedford Audubon Society’s Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch, I’ll take the time to look back at this year’s highlights. The watch was initiated on 22 August, a day that despite containing only 20 migrating raptors included 3 Bald Eagles, a sign of things to come. Almost three months later, and with only a few days left to tally
the final raptors (the last count day is slated for 20 November), a number of season records have already fallen. All-time seasonal high counts have been set for four species (Black Vulture, Bald
Eagle, Cooper’s Hawk, and Peregrine Falcon) with only 130 more Turkey Vultures needed to eclipse the previous high mark. The previous Bald Eagle record was set back in 1996 when a total of 51 birds were observed. This year’s 94 birds to date obliterated that prior figure!

Overall, 2008 was an above average year in many respects. Only Northern Goshawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Golden Eagle, and American Kestrel migrated by Chestnut Ridge in less than average numbers. Of these, the only real surprise was the relative lack of truly migrant Red-tailed Hawks. Perhaps northern birds are simply waiting for that next arctic cold front or the onset of consistently cold weather to settle in further north. Whatever the case, the Red-tailed’s smaller, more highly migratory relative, the Broad-winged Hawk, more than made up for any deficiency. An awesome 5473 Broad-wingeds were seen passing by Chestnut Ridge on 18 September, the unequivocal best flight day this season (5579 raptors in total). Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that 4472 of this total was recorded within a mere three hour timespan in the afternoon. All in all, over 8000 Broad-winged Hawks were counted during just five days in mid-September (15–19 September), making this passage a must-see event for next fall.

Aside from raptors, a number of other notable migratory events made this a particularly memorable season. Noteworthy season totals include: Brant (712), Canada Goose (8772), Ruby-throated Hummingbird (284), Cedar Waxwing (2482), Pine Siskin (13,266+), and Monarch butterflies (1497). The Pine Siskin migration, particularly, included an astounding number of individuals and Chestnut Ridge played a leading role in quantifying this perhaps unprecedented invasion. Look for an upcoming article in The Kingbird, New York’s state ornithological journal, detailing the Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration (and perhaps the massive Pine Siskin exodus) in the near future.

Additionally, a few rare avian finds were detected during the three month vigil. Perhaps most unusual was a young Iceland Gull attempting to blend in among a flock of Herring Gulls (23 October), what must be a first sight record from Chestnut Ridge. Only a few days prior (17 October), a Red-throated Loon obliged onlookers by pairing up with a much larger Common Loon in high migratory flight. Lastly, a White-winged Crossbill was observed zipping overhead, calling repeatedly (12 November), hopefully leading the way for what could be a unique crossbill event in the region this fall/winter.

Finally, I would like to thank the Bedford Audubon Society for providing me the wonderful opportunity to participate in and catalog a season’s worth of avian migration. Truly, this was an invaluable experience for me.

Click for the 2008 Final Report (pdf)    Click for Up-to-Date Hawk Watch Results

Directions to the Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch
Take I-684 to exit 4 (Bedford-Mt Kisco-Route 172) and turn off the ramp toward Mount Kisco. (Left if coming from the South, right if coming from the North.)

Drive about 100 yards and take first left hand turn on to Chestnut Ridge Road.

Take Chestnut Ridge Road for about 1.5 miles and look for the entrance on the Right, the sign for the Nature Conservancy's Butler Sanctuary and go across the bridge to the parking lot.

The Hawk Watch is up the hill to the left (see sign just inside the fence).

Click for Hawk Watch Reports From Prior Seasons
2000   2001   2007   2008 report pdf

Hawk Migration Association of North America
The Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) is a membership-based organization committed to the conservation of raptors through the scientific study, enjoyment, and appreciation of raptor migration. HMANA collects hawk count data from almost two hundred affiliated raptor monitoring sites throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It has pages on Hawk Locations and Hawk Count Data.

Photo Courtesy of and Copyright by Richard L. Becker
rlbecker-songstar.org  www.songstar.org

Copyright © 2002–2008 Bedford Audubon Society
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