A Rare Find Among the Migrants at Second Mountain Hawk Watch

Yesterday morning’s fallout of hundreds of nocturnally migrating birds was followed overnight by the influx of one hundred or more new arrivals atop Second Mountain in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.  Visitors to the forest clearing used as a hawk watch lookout were treated to the antics of these colorful Neotropical species and more…

Red-eyed Vireo
…Red-eyed Vireo,…
A Great Crested Flycatcher.
…Great Crested Flycatcher,…
Least Flycatcher
…Least Flycatcher,…
A Northern Parula.
…Northern Parula,…
Juvenile Northern Paula
…juvenile Northern Paula,…
Nashville Warblers
…and quarrelsome Nashville Warblers.

These night-flying warblers, vireos, and flycatchers did again provide a thrilling show during the hours after sunrise, but today’s rarity passed through among the hundreds of migrating diurnal raptors—the tropics-bound Broad-winged Hawks—that made their way down the ridges of the lower Susquehanna valley this afternoon.

"Kettling" Broad-winged Hawks
A “kettle” of Broad-winged Hawks climbing on a thermal updraft above Second Mountain Hawk Watch.
Broad-winged Hawks
After gaining altitude, Broad-winged Hawks glide away toward the southwest in search of the next thermal updraft upon which they will rise to continue their journey to Texas, Mexico, and beyond.  Over three hundred of these raptors were counted as they passed the Second Mountain lookout today.
"Kettling" Broad-winged Hawks
Another “kettling” flock of migrating Broad-winged Hawks above Second Mountain.
Light-morph and dark-morph Broad-winged Hawks
A closer look reveals something unusual.  While the Broad-winged Hawk at the bottom center of the image displays the typical light-morph plumage, the bird in the upper left appears to be a dark-morph Broad-winged Hawk, a rarity in the eastern United States.
Dark-morph Broad-winged Hawk
A zoomed-in view of the probable dark-morph Broad-winged Hawk seen over Second Mountain this afternoon.  Populations of these variants nest in areas of central and western Canada.

The peak of the autumn Broad-winged Hawk migration will likely occur during the coming two weeks with many counting stations tallying more than one thousand birds on the best of days.  Visit one of these prominent lookout points so that you too can witness this amazing spectacle.  Click the “Hawkwatcher’s Helper: Identifying Bald Eagles and other Diurnal Raptors” tab at the top of this page to find a hawk watch near you!