Gunsight Mountain Hawk Watch – Golden Eagle Release

Like last year, we are asking for volunteers to help the observers at Gunsight Mountain. Watching the whole sky for an entire day is hard work, and the more eyes the better.

Volunteer hours also are tallied and reported to various agencies who base their grant funding partially on how engaged the local community is. Your Hawkwatching help can determine whether this program is funded in the future.

One new development is that this is the LAST full-season Hawkwatch by Hawkwatch International at Gunsight Mountain. The organization is going to switch gears and do a full-season count at Kluane Lake in the Yukon to monitor more of the whole raptor flight path to Alaska.

If you can be of assistance at Gunsight Mountain, they’d love to have you join them.

It’s approximately a 2 1/2 hour drive from Anchorage, but early mornings are not necessary.

Hawks migrate by gliding from thermal to thermal, and those thermal air columns don’t usually develop until the day has warmed up. Arriving by 10:30 or 11:00 is perfectly fine.

The Hawkwatchers, are also sometimes in need of supplies. If you are heading up the road, please contact Keys in case they need any supplies ferried up to Gunsight Mountain.

We can also email more information about what to expect at the site. Just contact us before you go at flybynightclub@gci.net for further information.