Hawk Watch is underway!
A collaborative effort between Acadia National Park and Schoodic Institute’s Bird Ecology Program with support from Friends of Acadia, Hawk Watch takes place on Cadillac Mountain, the highest point along the Atlantic coast from Canada to Brazil. Its latitude makes Cadillac Mountain a natural sentinel and exceptional early detection point for observing the northeastern-most headwaters of what becomes a spectacular river of southbound raptors.
Schoodic Institute volunteers and Acadia National Park staff will be at the Hawk Watch site next to the North Ridge Trail, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, 7 days a week, weather permitting. NPS rangers and raptor intern Jazmine will be providing interpretation to visitors about fall raptor migration Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., through mid-October. Read Jazmine’s weekly updates.
A vehicle reservation is required to drive up the Cadillac Summit Road.
Last year, volunteers counted a season total of 1,949 hawks. Their 248.75 hours of observation yielded a total of 7.8 hawks per hour, reported to the Hawk Migration Association. View the latest count data at hawkcount.org.
