Audubon Pennsylvania’s
Hawk Watch
At Waggoner’s Gap
Site Description
Waggoner’s Gap is small gap in the Kittatinny Ridge (also called Blue and North Mountain)
where PA Route 74 crosses between Cumberland and Perry Counties. It was named for a
family with extensive landholdings at the base of the mountain in Cumberland County, not for
its use by wagons. Hawk watching and counting have been done from two sites over the years.
The first, at the concrete tower along Route 74, was used as an alternate during inclement
weather.
The main site sits on the spine of the mountain 75 yards east of the highway. This site is
essentially a rock pile with steep descents on both sides. This enables watchers to see both
sides of the ridge from one spot. This gives the advantage of being able to see off wind birds
easily and increases the wind directions that are productive without requiring a physical move.
The ridge runs from the ENE to WSW. The nearest major ridge to the south is South
Mountain, roughly 12 miles distant. The nearest major ridge to the north is Tuscarora
Mountain, roughly 14 miles away. This expanse on both sides helps limit diffusion of the
flight. Trees on both sides of the ridge limit visibility of low flying birds. They also prevent
detection of low flying birds coming down the ridge until they are close to the lookout. It also
prevents low flying raptors from seeing the hawkwatchers until they are close. Best winds are
NW and S, with higher numbers seen with NW winds, but closer views on the S winds.
Key Contacts
Audubon Pennsylvania Office - 717/213-6880
Audubon Sanctuary Coordinator - Ron Freed - 717/243-8081
Compiler - Dave Grove - 717/258-5253
Lead Observers:
Keith and Deb Gingrich - 717/241-0470
Craig Houston - 717/243-8941
Don Orris - 717/582-3262
Gene Wagner - 717/582-2111
Other Important Numbers:
Reineman Sanctuary Manager - Lee Shull - 717/789-3980
State Police - Carlisle Sub-station - 717/249-2121
Carlisle Area Police/Fire/Ambulance - 717/243-4121
ACCESS TO SITE
The Waggoner’s Gap Hawk Watch can be reached by walking up a rock trail from the parking
lot on the north side of the Kittatinny Ridge. The parking lot is off PA Route 74, about 6 miles
NW of Carlisle, Pa.
Directions to the parking lot
From the east: On I-81 S take the Middlesex exit(exit 52) and turn right on Rt 11S toward
Carlisle. Go through the truckstops to the Carlisle turnpike exchange where we pick up all Pa
Turnpike travelers. Continue south on Rt 11 for 1.5 miles to a traffic light at Wolf Bridge Rd.
Turn right. Follow Wolf Bridge Rd 2.5 miles to a stop sign at PA Rt 34. Turn right and go .4
miles to a left turn on PA Rt 944 W. Go 5 miles to a stop sign at the intersection with Pa Rt
74. Turn right and go 2 miles up the mountain, being careful on the 90 degree turns. The
parking lot is 200 yards beyond the crest on the right.
From Baltimore: Travel north on I83. Either take the Pa Turnpike west from Exit 18 or turn
off I-83 onto I 581 W to I 81 S a mile beyond the Turnpike. Then follow the above.
From D.C.: Take Rt 15N past Gettysburg to Pa Rt 74N at Dillsburg. Follow Rt 74 N through
Carlisle to the mountain.
From Winchester, VA: Take I 81N to exit 47A in Carlisle. Turn left on Pa Rt 34N. Go to the
square in Carlisle and turn left onto Pa Rt 74 N. Follow 74 N to the parking lot (Be careful
following signs, there are two turns that can be tricky)
Trail to the lookouts
The trail leaves the oval parking lot at the right hand (uphill) side. After approx. 100 yards it
splits, but both forks lead to the lookout. The right hand trail is less steep but longer. The
lookout is an angled rock pile. Bring a cushion to sit on and warmer clothing than you think
you might need. There is very limited space for chairs of any sort and that space is claimed
very early in the day. There is a porta-potti in the parking lot. The parking lot is gated and
unlocked by the counter for the day. The gate will remain locked over night and during
inclement weather when no watch is being conducted.
Dates, times and weather
The official daily count at Waggoner’s Gap begins on 1 August and ends on 31 December.
There is no set start or stop time each day, but in good weather, the gate is usually open from
9 to 5. This may vary especially during August and December. If the gate is locked you may
park at the gate (don’t block it) and walk up the path. Fog often occurs in mornings during the
fall. Since several of the counters can see the lookout from their homes, they may not unlock
the gate until the fog lifts. The same applies for rain or snow. An early snowstorm can make
the parking lot impassible for some time late in the season. Notes will be made on Birdhawk
when this happens.
Data Collection and Reporting
Data collected is geared toward entry in HMANA’s Hawkcount Data System. Information
should be recorded on the Hawk Migration Daily Count Sheet (appendix A) for entry into
Hawkcount. The official counter for an hour is responsible for the entry of data into
Hawkcount. Timely entry is required for generation of the daily Birdhawk report.
The Daily Count Sheet should be filled out as follows: At the beginning of each hour enter the
initials of the observers assisting with the flight. Enter the names of known new visitors plus
the number of new visitors in the bottom margin. The hour is EST, wind speed according to
the Hawkcount criteria, wind direction is where the wind is coming from. Temperature is in
Celsius, cloud cover is percentage of coverage, visibility is in kilometers in the direction of
the best visibility, and precipitation should follow the Hawkcount parameters. Flight direction
and height should be recorded at the end of the hour and reflect the predominate height and
direction for the hour. Flight direction is assumed to be WSW and flight height unaided eye,
unless there are unusual circumstances.
Wind Speed may be coded using the following guidelines:
0 – Less than 1 km/h (calm, smoke rises vertically)
1 – 1-5 km/h (smoke drift shows wind direction)
2 – 6-11 km/h (leaves rustle, wind felt on face)
3 – 12-19 km/h (leaves, small twigs in constant motion, light flag extended)
4 – 20-28 km/h (raises dust, leaves, lose paper, small branches in motion)
5 – 29-38 km/h (small trees in leaf sway)
6 – 39-49 km/h (larger branches in motion, whistling heard in wires)
7 – 50-61 km/h (whole trees in motion, resistance felt walking against wind)
8 – 62-74 km/h (twigs, small branches broken off trees, walking generally impeded)
9 – Greater than 75 km/h
Visibility may be determined using the following:
North
Green Valley Road – 2 km
Welch Hill – 3.7
Airport – 4.5
Bridgeport – 6
Mt. Dempsey – 6.5
Landisburg/Alinda – 7.7
Bell’s hill – 8.8
Germany Ridge – 9.8
Loysville – 11.5
Route 74 Notch/Tuscarora – 25
Shade Mt. – 50
South
Route 74/944 - 2
McClure’s Gap Rd - 4
Opossum Lake - 6
Gingrich House – 8.5
Carlisle/Rt. 11 Tower - 10
Mt. Holly - 20
Navy Depot - 28
South Mt – Behind Mt. Holly - 30
Ski Roundtop - 38
TMI - 45
Species Counting:
Counting should be done to insure that only migrants are tallied. If in doubt, don’t count.
Counters should create “counting lines.” These virtual lines are the point a raptor must cross
before they can be added to the count; birds circling upridge should not be counted until they
pass the “counting line.” Birds that have been counted and return upridge must be subtracted.
Black Vulture - Do not count until 1 October. The Millwick Rd roost must have cleared
before counting is begun. After then, count with caution. Do not count when vultures are
recirculating.
Turkey Vulture - same as Black Vulture
Osprey - Count entire season
Bald Eagle - Count entire season. Age as follows: Juv, White Belly, 4th yr, Adult and Unaged.
Record time and name of person who made the first call.
Northern Harrier - Count entire season. Record Male, Female, Juvenile or Unknown.
Sharpshinned Hawk - Count entire season.
Cooper’s Hawk - Count entire season. Be aware of locals early in the season.
Northern Goshawk - Count entire season. Record Juvenile, Adult or Unaged.
Red-shouldered Hawk - Count entire season. Record Juvenile, Adult or Unaged
Broad-winged Hawk - Count entire season
Red-tailed Hawk - Count entire season. Extreme care must be given to separate migrants from
locals. Until Sep 15 and after Nov 20, only count horizon to horizon fliers.
Rough-legged Hawk - Count entire season. Note color morph.
Golden Eagle - Count entire season. Record Juvenile, Subadult, Adult and Unaged. Record
time of day and “first call.”
American Kestrel - Count entire season. Use caution in August to separate migrants from
locals feeding on insects.
Merlin - Count entire season
Peregrine Falcon - Count entire season. Record Juvenile, Adult, and Unaged. Record time of
day and “first call.”
UA,UB,UF,UE and UR - use these when in doubt.
Others - record time of day, detailed description and names of those who saw the raptor.
Also record monarchs, hummingbirds, loons, geese, swans and anything else of interest
Annual report - The compiler is responsible to produce a written summary report and
distribute it to the regulars.
History of Waggoner’s Gap Hawk Watch
During the 1930s a change began to emerge in perceptions about birds of prey. Instead of
being only regarded as vermin to be exterminated, people began to study raptors with
admiration. This trend first found noted voice at Hawk Mountain, with the efforts of Rosalie
Edge beginning to shape new attitudes focused on stopping the ongoing slaughter of hawks.
Places that had only seen shooting soon began to see quiet, peaceful observations of the
autumn migration replace the carnage. Lesser known ridge lookouts were scouted and became
known in the birding community. Most sites were in eastern Pennsylvania, with Bake Oven
Knob being the most notable.
By the late 30s two locations west of the Susquehanna River began to attract regular visitors.
They were Sterrett’s Gap and Waggoner’s Gap. Reverend E. S. Frey compiled a book of
counts made at Sterrett’s Gap. Ted Hake from York County was one of the pioneers at
Waggoner’s Gap. He visited from the late 30s into the 90s, but left no recorded counts. The
first known counts were made starting in 1948 by Lou Knohr, a high school science teacher at
Carlisle High School. Unfortunately, the counts from 48-51 were lost. The first counts extant
from 1952 to 1953 were in a summary format by species and obtained from Dr. Bertram
Henry.
The first daily counts from Waggoner’s Gap were made by Lou Knohr and presented to Dr. C.
J. Ralph of Dickinson College. These counts spanned the years 1954-1973 and only listed
those raptors seen by Mr. Knohr and his wife Elsie on their frequent visits. A few other counts
were recorded during this time and preserved by Dr. Ralph in the archives of the College. By
the early 1970s interest in monitoring raptor migration resulted in a count in 1973 sponsored
by the Appalachian Audubon Chapter of the National Audubon Society and led by Michael
Kotz, a high school student from Harrisburg. This effort of 795 hours has been lost.
The year 1974 saw the founding of the Hawk Migration Association of North America.
Waggoner’s Gap was represented by Dr. Ralph and Malcom Simons Jr. Plans were made to
submit the Waggoner’s Gap counts to HMANA using the HMANA forms. Rich Peiffer, a
Cumberland Valley High School teacher, was chosen to be compiler. Peiffer, with help from
Jake Baum and others, held the job until 1981 when he died from a cancer. Greg Smith, from
York, PA then took on the job until 1988, when the job was passed to Kim Van Fleet. She and
her husband Glen served until 1994, when Dave Grove became compiler.
Hours of observation increased throughout the period and it is now routine for over 1,000
hours of counting to be recorded in a season. The count protocol was oral history until 1998
when a written protocol was adopted by the counters.
The land at the site was privately owned until 1953, when the site was purchased by the
Reineman Wildlife Sanctuary Trust. In 2001, 20 acres of land encompassing the hawk watch
was deeded to Pennsylvania Audubon for the purpose of preserving the site as a hawk watch.
That fall a parking lot was built on the north side of the ridge and trails were built from the lot
to the hawk watch.