We are excited for another hawk migration season this year at Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch! We anticipate that we will be operational as usual, and visitors will be welcome. We are, however, canceling our annual Open House event. We are taking the COVID-19 virus seriously, and our primary concern will be the safety of our volunteer counters. Thus, to ensure the health and well-being of our counters (and visitors), several safety measures will be utilized.
Unfortunately, some hawk watch sites in North America have canceled their operations this fall due to COVID-19, and others will be significantly affected by the guidelines dictated by their particular site location. Because Rockfish Hap Hawk Watch is located on private property of the Inn at Afton, we should not be impacted by regulations or potential shutdowns that may be mandated in the surrounding Shenandoah National Park, Skyline Drive or Blue Ridge Parkway.
We ask all visitors to please adhere to the following guidelines:
- Because we are outdoors, use of face masks is optional. However, we expect all visitors to follow CDC social distancing guidelines and remain at least 6 feet away from non-family members.
- The safety of our counters is a top priority. Thus, our counters (and observers/helpers if present) will conduct the raptor count from within a specified area clearly identified by cones or tape. We ask that visitors remain outside of this marked area at all times.
- As usual, we encourage questions and other communications with counters, but ask that this be done from outside of the marked counter area. Unfortunately, we will not be able to share optics with others at the hawk watch this fall.
- If the crowd size gets too dense for the grassy area next to the Inn, it may be necessary to close that area to further visitors. If this happens, a sign will be clearly posted instructing visitors to not enter and to remain in the parking lot to watch the raptor migration from there.
- We will have a portable toilet available on site for visitors to use. The toilet will be cleaned and serviced weekly, and we will keep a bottle of disinfectant spray inside. The toilet will be kept locked, so ask the counter on site to borrow the key to use the toilet.
We look forward to your visit to Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch this fall. Feel free to contact us before your visit if you have questions or wish to check on current conditions. By following these common-sense guidelines, we are confident that we’ll experience another safe and astounding raptor migration this year! We will continue to monitor the governor’s recommendations and orders as the season progresses, so check back here for potential updates or on our Facebook page.