I took a trip this weekend to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is a wild bird sanctuary in Albany Township and East Brunswick Township, located along the Appalachian flyway in eastern Pennsylvania. Hawk Mountain is a private non-profit sanctuary and charges a fee to enter. I pre-purchased my ticket the night before so I would be ready upon arrival. July is not the best time to view raptors such as the broad-winged Hawk, but I wanted to go to get familiar with the area in case I wanted to come back in the Fall to take photographs of the many raptors migrating to the area.
I arrived to the trail head around 8am and headed in. My first stop was the South Lookout. The sun was rising in the distance which was not ideal. This would be a great view during sunset as the valley would be backlit for photos.
I skipped the next few overlooks to head up to the North Overlook. The terrain was very rocky. Large boulders made up the staircases with safety railings in the hard to climb areas.
I arrived at 1,521 ft in elevation to the North Overlook. I can only imagine how pretty this will be in Autumn with the leaves changing colors. I took my backpack off and sat down for a bit to enjoy the view.
I did not see any Hawks during my trip today which was not that surprising. Overall, I enjoyed the area but due to travel time and variety of birding opportunities, I won’t be making this a regular destination. I will likely return in the Fall to get pictures of both the Autumn leaves and the migrating Hawks.