The Gunsight Mountain Hawk Watch Weekend

The Harlan’s Hawk Capitol

of the World!

at MP 118.8 of the Glenn Highway:  10:00 AM

Our Annual Hawk Watch Weekend in collaboration with the Mat-Su Birders will take place this year on April 15 & 16th.   It’s the Greatest Event of the Birding Year in Alaska!

Our Hawk Watch is known as “The Harlan’s Hawk Capital of the World” because you’ll see more Harlan’s Hawks here than anywhere else on Earth.

There is no ornithological tailgate party like this anywhere in the country, and this year we know of at least one birder who’s traveling all the way from Utah for the event.

Celebrate the return of spring migrating raptors with this annual Anchorage Audubon field trip of the spring. Migrating raptors that can be seen along the ridge line near MP 118.8 include Golden Eagle, Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Goshawk, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, and Merlin. Swainson’s Hawk and Osprey have also been seen migrating through this area as well as Swans, Lapland Longspurs, Snow Buntings, and the occasional Northern Hawk Owl.   Bring warm clothing, binoculars, spotting scopes, lunch, snacks, and lawn chairs and sit back while you watch migrating raptors glide over the nearby ridge.

Generally great weather, albeit a little chilly sometimes – The dog doesn’t quite seem so enraptured by the passing raptors as is everyone else.

The Hawkwatch is a spectacle that is unrivaled in Alaska.  It’s a great gathering, a fabulous party, and the birds are astounding.  If you have never attended the Hawk Watch, you’ll never be the same.  The scenery is gorgeous!

Hawk Watch Panorama taken from a 100 Megapixel image of the Chugach Mountains to the south of MP 118.8 of the Glenn Highway

Meet at 10:00 AM at the wayside at Milepost 118.8, Glenn Highway. A short raptor identification talk will take place at 10:30 AM.  On Sunday, April 16, the Mat-Su Birders will host their annual Hawk Watch Potluck BBQ at the same location.   For details on the Mat-Su Hawk Watch – www.matsubirders.org/html/calendar.html.

Hawk Watch – Northern Harrier (note the black wing tips)

A special birder’s banquet will be hosted by the Sheep Mountain Lodge on Saturday night, and plans include a talk by the Professional Hawkwatchers from Hawkwatch International who once again will be conducting an entire-migration census of the site during March, April, and May.  Rooms are available at The Lodge for those who want to stay on site for the entire Hawkwatching Weekend.

Hawk Watch 2012 – Golden Eagle

And once again, Anchorage Audubon and the Mat-Su Birders are honored to supply Port-A-Potties at the event for your Hawkwatching pleasure.   

We’d Love to Have You Join Us.

Saturday & Sunday, April 15 & 16, 2017

MP 118.8 Glenn Highway

The Best Alaskan Hawkwatch Article

The BEST Article Ever Written on Hawkwatching in Alaska!

A few years back, The American Birding Association’s magazine, Birding, ran an article about our own Gunsight Mountain Hawkwatch by Paul and Cecily Fritz.

The Fritzes led the hawkwatch effort at Gunsight Mountain for many years, and this article describes the site perfectly.  They explain why our hawkwatch is very different from most other hawkwatch sites in the country, which raptors can be seen, when they can be seen, and why the birds even fly in a strangely different direction.

(Website administrator edit on 3/10/2018:  The PDF of the article has been embedded here because it appears to be not longer available on Hawkwatch International’s website.  Special thanks and credit to Paul and Cecily Fritz and to Hawkwatch International.)

We have a gem in our own backyard, and we’d love to see you sometime this spring at Gunsight Mountain!

NO Audubon Meeting This Thursday – March 17, 2016

Sorry for the confusion, but there is NO Audubon meeting this Thursday.

Our regular meeting has been replaced by Neil Paprocki’s special Hawkwatch Program on SATURDAY – March 19, 2016.

SPECIAL MARCH PROGRAM

Neil Paprocki from Hawkwatch International
presents

“The Gunsight Mountain Hawkwatch
Monitoring Program for 2016″

Our March 19 Meeting is TOTALLY DIFFERENT this year. It will NOT take place on our usual Third Thursday because of the availability of a Special Guest Star. Neil Paprocki from Hawkwatch International will present a SPECIAL program on The Gunsight Mountain Hawkwatch.

This year, for the First Time Ever, Hawkwatch International is monitoring our migration site for the full TEN WEEK Migration Season from March 7 thru May 15!  This is a dream collection of data that has been envisioned for 20 years.

Neil Paprocki and his team arrived at the sight on March 7, and will give us a glimpse into the early Golden Eagle migration, the results from last year’s limited monitoring of the site, and an overview of the Gunsight Mountain migration. This will be a total treat for all Raptor Fans, but EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT FOR THIS MEETING.

The Program will happen on SATURDAY, MARCH 19 at 7:30pm, and even the location is different. For this meeting ONLY, we will meet in the UAA Consortium Library, Room 307.

We hope you can join us, and there will be special scholastic cookies in honor of the UAA Library.