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You are here: Home - Birding Sites - Hawkwatching
| Maryland has a number
of hawks and falcons on its bird list. Some are accidental visitors, but many
can be seen regularly in the appropriate season and habitat. The sites below provide extraordinary viewing opportunities during fall or spring migration, as noted.
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| *Fort
Smallwood Park Pasadena, MD (Spring Migration) |
Fort Smallwood Park, in northern Anne Arundel County, is likely the best spot along the entire East Coast for observing spring raptor migration. Follow these links for more information and directions to the site. Fort Smallwood Park Directions To Fort Smallwood and Site Map |
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Town Hill |
This
relatively new site, located in Allegany County, features a long, roofed
shelter with a great view of the valley to the east. Take I70 west which
you can pick up at Baltimore or, if coming from the DC area, at Frederick.
Just past Hancock, take I68 west. You enter Allegany Co. at the foot of
and on this side of Sideling Hill. Town Hill is the next ridge as you
travel west. Exit I68 at Orleans Road, exit 68. Bear right as you come
off the exit and continue to a stop sign at Scenic Rt. 40. Turn left on
40 and drive to the top of the ridge (no more than 1 mile). As you reach
the top, the Town Hill Hotel is on your right and the hawk watch is on
your left just opposite the hotel. DeLorme page 69, A4. |
| *Turkey
Point Cecil County, MD (Fall Migration) |
The Turkey Point Hawk Watch in Cecil County is one of Maryland’s oldest hawk watches, operating on a volunteer basis since 1994. The hawk watch is in operation daily (weather permitting) from the Tuesday after Labor Day through Thanksgiving weekend, and the counters welcome visitors. In fall 2012, volunteers counted 3,658 raptors. Call Pat Valdata for additional information at 410-398-2603 or send her e-mail at pvaldata@zoominternet.net. Statistics for this hawk watch are provided courtesy of the Cecil Bird Club. Directions: From I-95 Exit 100, go South on MD Route 272 to the end of the road (13.5 miles) in Elk Neck State Park. Walk approximately 1 mile to the site.
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| *Washington
Monument SP Washington Co, MD (Fall/Spring Migration) |
A
regular but fairly informal watch atop the monument which straddles South
Mountain in Boonesboro. One or more counters is present many days, at least
through the morning hours; volunteers are most needed in the afternoons.
Located off Alt. Route 40, near Boonsboro, MD. Take I-70 to Frederick
and go West on Alt. 40 to Monument Road. Take Monument Road to the park
entrance. Follow the right fork about 1/2 mile into the park to the Monument
Trail. The hawk watch is located at the top of the tower, about a 1/4
mile walk uphill. For further information about the hawk watch contact Paul Newton; to determine if the park is open, call park headquarters
at 301-701-791-4767. The view from the stone tower is breathtaking. As
its name implies, the tower is a monument to our first President. The
view alone is worth the visit, but since the Cumberland Valley is a migatory
bird flyway, the park offers excellent all around birdwatching opportunities.
The Appalachian Trail winds through the park and passes the base of the
monument. You can go to a nice Web site, Washington Monument Hawk Watch, a labor of love by Maryland birder Dave Russell, which has much information, pictures, links and many statistics.
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| Table
Rock Garrett County, MD (Fall Migration) |
This Garrett County site is located along Table Rock Road at the crest
of Backbone Mountain and just off of US route 50 approximately two miles
east of Red House Md. Red House is located at the intersection of US route
50 and route 219 app. 10 miles southwest of Oakland, Md. If you're coming
from Red House and heading east on route 50, Table Rock road turns off
to the right in a right-hand turn almost directly at the crest of the
mountain. There is a small clearing on the right hand side of the road
almost as soon as you turn onto Table Rock Road. With care you can pull
your vehicle into the clearing. Or you can just park your car along the
side of the road by the clearing. Claudia Wilds mentions this general
area in her book, Finding Birds in the National Capital Area but may not
have mentioned the hawk watching aspect. She touts an area farther out
Table Rock road as being good for Mourning Warblers and other species.
Olin Pettingill also mentions this area in his older Birding Finding East.
The site can be very productive. The drawbacks are no facilities and a
lot of local traffic. There is a small restaurant along route 219 heading
into Oakland that offers good home-cooked style food and restrooms. It's
about a ten minute drive from Table Rock. The advantages are that you
can drive right to the spot and actually hawk watch from your car if you
wish. In addition to hawk watching, this part of Garrett County can also
be very productive for songbirds, shorebirds and waterfowl. Any one wanting
information on the site can phone Gary Felton at 304-454-9251. |
| *Site statistics are available for some of these locations. Click on the name of the site to see them. |
