Fall raptor flights have been known to occur on Tussey Mountain for many years, with the former fire tower near Pennsylvania Furnace Rd (5 miles southwest of the current site) being a popular hawk-watching site (see Merrill Wood's classic Birds of Pennsylvania). Part-time spring counts were begun by David Brandes in March 1995 and continued through 2000 with the help of Dan Ombalski and other local birders. Full-time counts have been conducted from late Feb through April since 2001. Although conventional wisdom maintained that raptors do not follow ridges in the spring, we learned quickly that such "wisdom" did not apply to golden eagles. Below are summary tables of the hawkwatch data since 1995 and record flights for Tussey.
Hours |
Total |
Total |
Peak GE Flights |
|
| 47 | 494 | 16 | 15 on 3/12 | |
| 87 | 1740 | 27 | ||
| 94 | 1114 | 56 | 12 on 3/19, 15 on 3/20 | |
| 99 | 738 | 95 | 20 on 3/6, 12 on 3/13, 16 on 3/22 | |
| 63 | 1014 | 19 | ||
| 90 | 375 | 50 | 9 on 3/7, 10 on 3/24 | |
| 448 | 6534 | 166 | 14 on 3/10, 22 on 3/11, 11 on 4/22 | |
| 455 | 1771 | 119 | 13 on 2/25, 22 on 3/8, 11 on 3/9, 10 on 3/14 | |
| 485 | 2050 | 199* | 22 on 3/4, 28 on 3/7, 23 on 3/8, 32 on 3/16 | |
| 347 | 1355 | 162 | 22 on 2/29, 32 on 3/6 | |
| 413 | 2620 | 178 | 15 on 3/6, 13 on 3/7, 21 on 3/12, 16 on 3/19 | |
| 496 | 2253 | 150 | 11 on 3/3, 13 on 3/4, 25 on 3/10, 17 on 3/13 | |
| 420 | 1289 | 152 | 14 on 3/2, 27 on 3/9, 30 on 3/11 |
| High Date | High Year | |
| 45 on 4/22/01 | 272 in 2001 | |
| 14 on 3/03/08 | 29 in 2007 | |
| 46 on 4/08/01 | 125 in 2001 | |
| 161 on 4/08/01 | 628 in 2001 | |
| 32 on 4/12/01 | 172 in 2001 | |
| 2 on 3/12/05 | 6 in 2005 | |
| 15 on 3/17/03 | 82 in 2005 | |
| 2173 on 4/12/01 | 3599 in 2001 | |
| 1 on 4/12/01 and 4/20/03 | 1 in 2001 and 2003 | |
| 227 on 4/08/01 | 963 in 2001 | |
| 4 on three dates | 18 in 2005 | |
| 62* on 3/03/08 | 199* in 2003 | |
| 42 on 4/08/01 | 167 in 2001 | |
| 3 on 4/23/01 and 3/30/05 | 16 in 2001 | |
| 1 on various dates | 5 in 2001 |
Early on, the totals go up and down from year to year, because of both spotty coverage and varying weather conditions. We made an increased effort to cover the early part of the season as we learned when the eagles were moving through, and it generally paid off with higher numbers. In 1998, we had a banner year, getting great returns for our 100 hours of coverage. We also enjoyed the daily flocks of redpolls and crossbills that spring. Realizing the site's potential, we organized full-time counts starting in 2001, which have shown that 1998 was not a fluke - 150+ golden eagles can be expected at Tussey every spring.
The first three weeks of March is the peak time for golden eagles, although the flight can be delayed by late snows. We have learned that a large majority of the big birds passing Tussey are adults, thus the early flight as compared to other full-time sites
in the northeast where many of the eagles passing are non-breeding juveniles (e.g., Braddock Bay and Derby Hill, NY). Other early raptor species include red-tails, red-shoulders and rough-legs.
April is the best month for big numbers of raptors, although the flight is highly weather-dependent.
Warm days with southerly winds and clouds are usually good, particularly after extended damp weather when the flights can be spectacular. Bright sunny days with west or northwest winds are usually not very productive. Common species include red-tails, broad-wings, sharp-shins, Coopers, ospreys, and kestrels. We usually see all 16 regularly occurring species of eastern diurnal raptors each spring.
Thanks to the many volunteers that have helped with the count over the years
