The Allegheny Front Hawk Watch opens for the spring 2024 season on Thursday, February 15, 2024. Weather permitting, coverage will be from about 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Remember that hours will be dictated by the weather and sometimes the winds. If it is raining or the weather is unconducive for a flight then we will be closed.
Coverage will be "casual" in the in late November through December, meaning that counters have discretion to cover on less favorable days for a flight.
Come out and enjoy a day on the mountain top with friends!
Hawk Watch Introduction
Standing above the clouds at the Hawk Watch
The hawk watch is private property, so please do not walk-in when we are not there or the gate is closed! Consider supporting our work by becoming a member, offering your time, or making a donation.
This background picture is from the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch…before the clouds lifted for the day back in 2020. The picture below is the first Saturday that the hawk watch was open to the public in 2021.
Normal Operating Hours: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. but may be altered by the counter of the day. All visitors must be off the property when the gate closes.
Fall counting begins August 15 and ends in early December.
Spring counting begins in late February and ends in early May.
Directions to the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch located at 245 Raptor Road, Schellsburg, PA 15559
We strongly recommend not driving up Lambert Mt. Rd. from Helixville Rd.
Meet the Counters at Allegheny Front Hawk Watch - Click Here
The Allegheny Front Hawk Watch posts our migration numbers on hawkcount.org and has been doing so for 25 years. We were the 11th hawkwatch to register for this system that now has hundreds of sites.
Junior Hawkwatcher Program - scroll down!
Incredible photograph by Allegheny Front’s own Dave Poder.
How cold does it get? Here is a veteran hawkwatcher!
PA Audubon Special: Allegheny Front Hawk Watch Virtual Tour June 24, 2020
Junior Hawkwatcher Program
Bob Stewart officiates the Junior Hawkwatcher Program for two youngsters.
The Junior Hawk Watcher program is available at the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch. Printed copies are available at the hawkwatch, but copies can be downloaded here:
Participants that complete this program will receive a certificate of achievement and a special Allegheny Front Junior Hawkwatcher sticker.
Hawk Migrations Studies - View Digital Issues - Formerly accessible only by registered members of the Hawk Migration Association of North America, Hawk Migration Studies is now free to the public! Reports on all Hawkwatches in North America as well as other interesting articles!
Mr. Kuhne brought the Bedford Middle School Students to Experience the Allegheny Front!
Wayne Sierer, one of our alternate counters and an environmental education specialist, helped the students understand what we do here!
GOLDEN EAGLE RESEARCH AND THE ALLEGHENY FRONT HAWK WATCH
The Allegheny Front Hawk Watch is known for the relatively large number of Golden Eagles counted during the Fall and Spring raptor migration. These eagles are just as beautiful and inspiring as their bald cousins and we have been blessed with some of the greatest looks at them at the hawk watch.
In the fall of 2006, researchers from Powder Mill Nature Center and the National Aviary in Pittsburgh initiated what we call the Golden Eagle Project. This project used traps to catch golden eagles and equip them with GPS and cellular tracking location transmitters. With transmitters attached, the eagles were released and their location tracked. Since then, several other eagles and hawks have been fitted with transmitters. The resulting telemetry data collected has revealed much about these raptor populations. This data shows the range of the Golden Eagles extends from the Mid-Atlantic states to the Northern Canadian/Labrador coasts.
Two of the eagles caught and tagged by the researchers were released at the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch. Some of the hawk watchers were able to see the eagles up close and watch their release. If you search the internet for Eastern Golden Eagle pictures, you can usually find the photos people were able to take of these eagles.
