2017 Chestnut Ridge HawkWatch Season Summary

Thank you to everyone that came out to the HawkWatch this season! The HawkWatch is not just our longest running conservation research effort at Bedford Audubon, it’s truly a community event. Regular visitors become part of our team– pointing out distant migrants, tracking the movements of resident hawks and vultures, and commiserating over the hot, flat, blue skies that are a HawkWatcher’s nemesis.

And of course the data we collect and submit to the Hawk Migration Association of North America is critical in better understanding raptor migration, population dynamics, and how best to protect these environmental sentinels.

We couldn’t do it without your support. Please consider making a donation to support this, and all of our conservation efforts, today.

Since the close of the season, Silvan Laan, the Lead Counter, has compiled the data and summarized it in a final season review, which is available for download in the sidebar.

Enjoy the gallery of photos below!

Most of the photos were taken by Charlotte Catalano, our HawkWatch Interpreter & Spotter. Charlotte captured not just migrating raptors (and sometimes at extreme distances), but also other migrants using the Arthur Butler Sanctuary as stopover habitat.